Let Me Catch My Breath
by Smiles4Voltron
Summary: Left to fend for themselves, blinded and injured, two unlikely Paladins must work together to survive. Tensions get high with horrid creatures, a determined bounty hunter, and their growing attraction to the , both a frustrating tension and sexual one, huh? Or could you consider those the same thing? (Ratings may change to Mature later)
1. Talk to me

"Talk to me."

"Not now, Lance."

There is a tug on Lance's arm, pulling it upward. He lifts his knees at the action. Managing to catch his foot against the rock in front of him he heaved himself over it. They continue walking, feet scuffling on something more than just dirt- he assumes rock. Maybe it was like a mountain since they seemed to be moving upward.

"Keith." he insists, "Talk to me."

"Lance." Keith grouched, too exhausted to force conversation. The Blue paladin is desperate for it.

"Please." he tightened his grip on Keith's shoulder- his only tether. "Tell me what you see."

After a long pause, the Red Paladin gives, sighing, "Rocks? Big ones- not really a mountain, but maybe like those things you see in canyons. We are moving up a hill. There are trees in the distance- I'm heading to those now to get us out of the heat."

Sweat pooled from Lance's forehead at the mention of it, his mouth dry and lips chapped, "How far is it?"

"Maybe a mile?"

"How is your leg?" with each step he can feel Keith wobble from the tips of his fingertips. He wouldn't say it, but the limp he had was obvious.

"It is fine. Are your bandages holding up?"

Lance runs his free hand up to graze the red stained wrap around his skull. Keith had done the best he could with what they had, but the bandages had fallen short. Keith had to pull as hard as he could to tie it. It hurt- but it was better than bleeding out.

"Fine." he tightened his grip on Keith's shoulder again, convinced he must be bruising the skin by now. Stammering, he asks, "W-What else do you see?"

Keith makes a little noise, like a frustrated huff, "I don't know- clouds? Weird triangle shaped clouds?"

"...You serious? Why didn't you say so sooner? That feels like something you would mention first thing." Lance gripes

"I'm preoccupied." Keith reaches his arm out, gripping the edge of Lance's chest plate as a warning. Lance pauses- lifting his foot out blindly to find whatever was in front of him. Realizing it was a small dropdown he lowered himself slowly.

"Your foot-"

Lance freezes, not sure what Keith meant by that, "W-What?"

"Here- no, here." his hand reaches down, grabbing Lance's ankle and moving it for him. "There-" he grunts to stand straight, his own leg faltering against him. Lance still couldn't fully trust if Keith took care of it or not- considering they used all the bandages for his eyes.

The slash had been so sudden when it hit him- the burning sensation still lingered around his nose. They hadn't really talked about it since arriving wherever this was, but was it really necessary at this point?

Separated from the team, from their lions- blinded and injured… all alone.

"Where do you think the lions are?" he asked.

"I don't know. The Castle maybe…" they were certain that even if the both of them had been caught in that portal the others would have at least saved their Lions.

"You think the others are okay?"

"I don't know."

"Where are we?"

"I don't know."

"Do you know anything?" Lance couldn't muster any bite behind the remark.

"...I don't know." Keith says, just as tired as Lance was.

He almost laughed- almost. "How about you make a guess then?"

"Sure," Keith says.

"Do you prefer underwear or briefs?" Keith stopped sharply, voice sharp but fingers warm.

"Lance." he shook him a little.

"Joke. Joke." he insisted, wishing to live to see another day. After some time, Lance sighs when something cool moves across his skin- like a cloud covering the blistering sun,

"Did we make it to the trees?"

"Yeah."

"Can I sit down here?" he is weary of the area around him.

"No. Uh- here, sit here." Keith sounds tight with the entire situation, not use to having to be so aware of his surroundings. Every crack and divot in the ground held a threat.

Lance was even more flustered with this fact, not use to having to hang onto someone as long as he had with Keith. He could go weeks without ever bumping into the guy and now he feared not being able to sense his presence close to him.

The darkness was suffocating.

"You here-?" Lance reaches out, hating how clingy he felt. Of course, Keith was here, he just hadn't said anything in a bit.

"I'm here." He feels Keith's arm a second later and grips it tight, squeezing once then letting go.

"...Sorry."

"It is fine."

They sit in silence, listening to the other breath. Keith's intake sound sharp and pained, "You sure you are okay?"

"Yeah."

"Is your leg still bleeding?"

"It is fine."

Lance is tempted to reach down and feel it for himself, but he felt that the notion sounded like a bad idea. Discovering the truth or not it would end with him feeling up Keith's leg. "Are you lying to me?"

"Maybe."

Lance tilted his head back and groaned, "Dude, come on."

"It is still bleeding, but it is fine," Keith grumbles. Lance nods, accepting that. Neither of them had the energy to put up with any sort of arguing today.

"Do you see any water around?" Lance inquired.

"No." Keith is forcing his way up to his feet, "Stay here."

The request sent Lance into a small panic, "Wait, what? Where are you going?"

"I'm going to climb one of these trees to see if I can find a water source." the red paladin explains, impatience evident in his tone, "Stay here."

Lance's pride refuses to ask Keith to stay and he nods, "Don't fall." he means to tease, but it comes out more sincere than he intended.

Keith clears his throat, "Yeah."

Listening intently, he could hear Keith's feet crunching along grass as he pads his way towards a tree. "What do the trees look like?" he called.

"Like Palm trees, but they are purple." The sound of skin scratching against bark is his only indicator that Keith has begun to climb and he waits.

Silence soon ensues.

It is unsettling.

Whistling to fill the dead air, he pats his knees for some sort of beat.

At least he can turn to his thoughts and memories for comfort. The first thing that came to mind was the events that lead them here.

...Which was the opposite of comforting, but whatever.

It had been a rescue.

Gaining word of a Galra ship close to their location they had moved to investigate it- discovering dozens of captured civilians and prisoners on board. The last time they had attempted to stage a rescue this big was back on the Balmara- which had given them plenty of room to move given that it was similar to a planet.

A Galra ship was harder- they couldn't just destroy it and any damage it took was a threat to the people within. It was a real tight situation that had all of them on edge from beginning to end. Once inside it was a little easier to get around and take out the Galra and take over the ship piece by piece.

Lance could faintly recall Shiro calling a warning at one point that a few of Zarkons Druids were aboard the ship. He had never faced on those before and hadn't known what to expect. By the time he even got to see it the Druid had managed to sneak it's way behind him… or teleported behind him?

He wasn't sure what it was that they did.

Either way, it didn't matter- it had caught him off guard and slashed at him with a blade. He was lucky he was able to lean back enough to avoid most of the brunt force, but the end result of the blade slashing his eyes was still the same.

Sitting here in the quiet woods was nothing compared to the cold sound of an unseeable war. Gunshots and screams- they filled his senses at the time and overwhelmed him.

Within that white noise, several voices had screamed his name. One, in particular, was close enough to wrap their arms around him and pulled him back, "Lance!"

Keith had dragged him, pulling him in random directions that Lance could have sworn they had entered an endless maze. When they tumbled to the floor, Keith screaming, Lance realized a little too late that he had been shot.

In his panic to find the wound, Lance grabbed at Keith, fingers fumbling over him, yelling his name. When something wet grazes his fingertips Keith screamed- his leg.

The next thing Lance knew, they were spinning. When they stopped and landed in the dirt, Keith explained that the Druid had one last trick up its sleeve and sent them spiraling through some portal.

Now they were stranded on a weird planet.

The bright side was that he wasn't on his own. The downside was that he was with Keith.

"How is it going up there?" he calls upward. There is no reply. "...Ignoring me?" he guesses. Still nothing. "...Keith?" his voice wavers. Standing, he cups his hands around his mouth, "Keith!"

There is a faint call back, "What?" it snapped.

Putting a calming hand to his chest, Lance sat back down. This was the worse…

Running a hand up to his eyes, his breath came out shakily. He was okay- they would get back to Allura, hop into a Cryo pod and everything would be back to the way it was. They would laugh about this one day.

"Hey," the echoing sound of Keith's voice has him lifting his head.

"Y-Yeah?"

"There is a waterfall North of here." he still sounds far off

Lance points in every direction, "Right- totally know which way that is."

"Which is why I'll lead the way- idiot." Keith snorts, "We'll need to find something to use to carry the water." he is muttering all sorts of survival tips that Lance drowns out.

"Right. Sure thing Mullet-"

The splintering sound of wood is more startling than Lance could ever imagine. It pales in comparison to the heavy thud that followed.

With a dry throat, he rasps, "Keith?"

Wheezing sounded the short distance away, followed with slurs of curses. Scrambling to his feet, Lance stumbles to the sound. Did he fall? How far up was he?!

"Keith?" how could he be feeling so much terror for a guy he claimed to hate earlier this morning? This situation was making no sense.

He trips over a branch or something like that and moves to crawling forward instead. It felt ridiculous and humiliating, but he just- if he got to Keith then everything would be fine, "Buddy?" he says a little more quietly. A little more desperately.

Reaching the sound of gasping, he felt around to find the back of the Red paladin. He was convulsing- the wind knocked right out of him. Lance could only brush off Keith's shoulders, patting his back until the shock of the fell passed and his breathing would return to normal, "It's okay." he chanted. He took of Keith's helmet, his fingers grazing the eye shield- slicing the end of his thumb. Wincing, he stuck it in his mouth to stop the bleeding.

It had been shattered from the fall too. With that thought in mind, he slowly ran a hand over Keith's face to feel for glass, brushing it aside and out of his bangs. "I'm the blind one here." he says, "What is your excuse for this?" He hadn't touched Keith so much in all his life.

His skin was smooth, his hair just as delicate.

It- Lance couldn't help but laugh at the pitiful groans Keith was making. That fall had not sounded pretty under any circumstances but if you've ever heard the air knocked out of someone then you would know that they just gag and moan and it is almost funny.

It is horrible to laugh at, don't get him wrong, but it was Keith and he can't help but snicker a little . "There there." he says, "Poor little Keith."

"I will… end you…" he was starting to come out of it. Realizing he was perfectly fine, Lance felt embarrassed with the fact that he rushed over here in a panic.

"Hey." he stood up and held his and out blindly. Reluctantly, a hand slipped into his and he pulled, yanking Keith to his feet. Surprised when more weight than he expected leaned against him he had to dig in his heels to stop them from falling. "It is your leg?"

Keith his huffing, "I'm fine…"

"Is it your leg?" he asks again.

"I said I'm fine."

"Is. It. Your. Leg?" he says each word slowly, hoping Keith would understand he wasn't dropping this anytime soon.

His unwilling companion groans in annoyance, "Yes. Okay? That fall didn't help…"

Clicking his teeth, Lance awkwardly grabbed Keith's arm and placed it around his shoulder, his second hand trailing down to grab Keith's lower back, almost gripping his hip, "Let's get to that waterfall."

"You want me to rely on a blind man?" Keith asked in unbelieving horror.

"You want me to rely on someone who falls from a tree?" Lance counters dryly.

"The branch broke."

"A Druid attacked me."

The conversation ended there and they were moving. Lance's side felt horrendously warm with Keith pressed up against it. It was uncomfortable, close enough to make him squirm and pull away, but Keith could barely walk on his own two feet with that wound.

All in all- it was an endless struggle. The forest terrain was not helping this process in any way and Keith was starting to fail his job in giving warnings of approaching objects. "Rock… Branch. Uh.. r-rock."

Lance couldn't think straight with Keith breathing into his ear, stammering and gasping. "Dude…" he says after a while, "Can you just- not look at me when you talk?" he requests.

Keith doesn't answer immediately, his comeback rather slow and bland, "Shut up."

It wasn't like him. Exhaustion aside, Keith never faltered. "Hey…" the heat emanating from the Red paladin could not have been normal. "Hold on-" forcing them to stop for a moment, he lifted his hand to his side. Finding Keith's nose, he lifted it upwards, flattening his palm to his forehead.

"Keith- christ, you're hot." he cringes. Keith staggers a little.

"W-What?" he stuttered.

"You have a fever."

"Oh…" Keith clears his throat sounding somewhat disappointed when he says, "I'm fine."

'You are not," Lance says, "How far are we from the waterfall?"

"Should be over that," he must have pointed, and Lance could only sigh and stand there until Keith realized his mistake. "Half a mile, past the underbrush." he corrects.

"Let's get there quickly then." he wasn't a doctor, but he had heard enough about infections to know that if an open wound wasn't treated properly then it could cause some serious problems.

Stumbling for a while longer Lance could smell the water before Keith spotted it. Shifting close to the rocky side of the stream, they moved as close to the waterfall as they could.

Keith said something about a cave and before Lance knew it, they were collapsed within. It's cold stone walls and floors were a blessing, "Hold on-" he leans Keith against the cave wall. Taking off his helmet, decided to use that for a water container for now, he stood.

Keith grabbed his wrist, "Don't."

"What?"

"I'll go with you."

Lance batted his hands away, "I can gather water, Keith. And this time, unlike you, I won't fall from a tree."

"You could fall into the water…" he murmurs.

"You insult me sir!" he says in a sophisticated voice. Following the cave wall, he extended out his hand aimlessly until he could feel the waterfall. Sticking out his helmet he let the water pour in and pour out a few times to wash his head gear clean.

Repeating the process a few times, he filled it and turned to head back. "Hey, Keith!" he echoed.

Keith's voice is slurred and distant, "Huh?"

"Here, got'cha something." he finds his shoulder and kneels down, lifting the helmet towards him.

"You drink first." the red paladin pushes it away.

"Uh- no. You drink first." Lance frowns.

"You."

"You."

"You." Keith's spirit comes back a little when he growls.

"You times 10!" Lance shoves it towards him, almost spilling it onto his chest. Keith pushes against him, and then his grip slips and he gives in. Lance didn't like that.

The idea of Keith having no strength to even bicker with him like this was… frightening.

Biting his lower lip, he put his hand to the back of Keith's neck and tilted his head up. "Okay, so, remember I am blind so this might end badly-" he brought the helmet towards his lips. Satisfied to hear the gentle sound of sipping, he lowered Keith's head back to the wall.

Taking a quick sip of his own, pleased at the wonderful taste, he brought the helmet down to Keith's leg.

"Okay, bare with me-" he pleads with the hothead with the leg injury. "Is it here?" he motions to where he assumed the injury was on Keith's leg.

"Down further…"

Lance can almost smell it and gags. Reaching forward, he unclipped the buckle to remove the knee pad. Keith hisses a little but doesn't move. Taking a few second to calm himself, Lance lifts the water to the wound, gently pouring it onto it. Keith tenses and his hand clasps down on Lance's shoulder, squeezing it.

"S-Sorry!"

Through gritted teeth, he makes a little noise for Lance to continue. Pouring most of the water onto the wound, Lance tears off a bit of the leg of his uniform. "I can't really see- can you rip this into shreds?"

Keith takes it without much of a fight, "You know how to bandage wounds?"

"Nope, but I'll give it my best shot." is all he can offer. He could have sworn Keith snorted a little, but he wasn't sure.

"Careful…" he is warned when he began to wrap the makeshift bandage. He should really have Keith doing this since he could fully see it, but Lance didn't want him moving as much as possible.

"Am I getting it?" he inquires.

"That isn't a comforting thing to hear you ask."

"I'm not a doctor, man." Lance says heavily, "I'm trying."

"I know…" the gentleness is too surprising- Lance is coughing a little, ears burning.

"Done." He manages to tie it and pulls back. Letting the waterfall fill the silence between them, Lance shifts to move his back to the cave wall. For a while they simply sit there, thinking and breathing.

At some point, they must have fallen asleep because he wakes up the next morning with his face nuzzled into Keith's shoulder and the Red paladin's head resting against his own.

Lance had to insist, no- force himself to believe his own words as he pulled away from Keith with a yelp- They were going to laugh about this one day.

* * *

 **Yeah, new story! Because I really need to not be so obsessed with my other one! XD**


	2. Traveling thoughts

"Hey," Keith awoke to Lance sitting next to him, his helmet in his hands. It was once again filled with water and held out in his general direction, "Thirsty?"

"Did you go out and get that?" Keith scowls, reaching up to take the bowl. His limbs felt like jelly, but that wasn't going to stop him from getting pissed that Lance- a blinded Lance, left without him there to make sure he didn't kill himself.

"Yes." he says defiantly, "Now shut up and drink."

Keith grunts a little but takes a sip anyway. The water really did taste amazing here- like it was pure of any bacteria and germs. When Lance tells him it was okay to drink it all he chugs a little bit of it, his throat horrendously dry.

"We need to get you help," Lance had managed to find himself a large stick while Keith was asleep and was using it to tap the ground in front of him. It pissed him off to wonder exactly how much time did Lance spend outside this cave without him knowing? He could have fallen and split his head open and Keith would have never known till he woke up. Even if that might be the kind of fate this idiot deserved, the thought bugged him…

"We need to get to higher ground- see if we can find some sort of civilization," he concludes.

"Yeah-" Lance holds out a blind hand. Keith takes it, hissing as he forced himself onto his feet. The pain had subsided a lot since Lance bandaged it, but the warm burn continued to shoot up his leg.

Limping out together, Lance paused for Keith to decide which way to go. He couldn't really tell which way would lead to the best spot to get a look around, but they might as well try a different direction from where they came from.

Together, using more teamwork than they've ever used before, they trudged West of the waterfall. If they couldn't find anything in a few hours they would come back to this spot- it was important to keep a water source close to you.

After a few minutes, Lance began to talk. Perhaps it was a coping mechanism for him in tough situations, but it was driving Keith insane. He wasn't even talking about anything relevant- just random garbage and puns about being blind.  
"Do you ever shut up?" he grouched.  
Lance replied with, "Do you ever stop complaining?"

"I'm the one complaining?" Keith scoffed, "Take a look in the mirror."

"I would love to but I can't really do that right now."

Catching himself, Keith frowned, "Can you just be quiet for a few minutes?"

"Well, how about you-!" Lance lost his footing and they stumbled. Keith threw his arm in front of Lance's chest, his other hand slinking around his waist to stop him from falling over.

Barely able to catch him, the two fell into silence, clutching to the other with all their might.

It was a stunned kind of silence that had them alarmed at how much fear had just pumped through their hearts because of a tree root that was sticking up just a little too far.

Lance, who had gripped the arm of Keith that had been placed in front of his chest, released it with shaky fingers, his brows furrowing slightly in frustration, "Sorry… I'm fine."

"Yeah…" Keith slowly retracted his arm from Lance's waist and moved his back to his shoulders and they carried on, both willing to act like nothing had just happened.

This situation was putting them both on edge- he couldn't even imagine how Lance must have felt. Even the slightest noise was probably driving him crazy!

He glanced to his right, running his eyes up and down the side of Lance's face. His head was held straight ahead- blindly following Keith's lead. Normally, after staring at Lance's Nose, ears, and lips for just a second too long, Keith would look away.

If there was one thing good about this situation- was oddly enough the fact that Lance… was blind. Now, Keith did not mean that in any bad way. He hated that Lance couldn't see right now. In fact, the thought had given him nightmares the night before. He should have been there!  
He had seen the Druid but was just a second too slow to stop it.

Lance's scream was still echoing in his ears, gnawing away at his very core.

You see- it was good he as blind because Keith could- well….stare… at him. He could stare at Lance.

It sounded creepy no matter how he said, but he could just walk and enjoy Lance's facial structure. While a terrible flirt and obnoxious beyond compare, no one could deny that he had a very pleasing face.

His smile alone could knock anyone out. Not that it did that for Keith… often.

"At least-" Lance sighs, his Adam's apple moving in a way the Keith can't help but ogle at it. "Can you tell me what you see?"

With a dry mouth, Keith clears his throat, "Same purple trees."

"Jeez, I really want to see this," Lance grumbles. "You aren't messing with me, right? They are seriously purple?"

"Yeah."

"Worse timing ever to go blind. What else?"

Keith tears his eyes from the other long enough to stare around. Craning his neck, he says, "The sky is more of an aquamarine than just blue. I haven't really seen any animals or anything around. I'll let you know if I see any fruit- though we might want to be careful with those just in case they are poisonous."

Lance makes a noise of confirmation, "How is your leg?"

"Same. How are your eyes?"  
"Still can't see."

"Do they still hurt?"

"It's numb."

They hobble around in silence for a few more minutes, stopping when Lance hears a noise. Not sure what he is talking about, Keith strains to hear it. A crack of a branch and he knows Lance isn't joking.

While it could just be some small forest animal the two couldn't really take that chance right now. So they scrambled to a tree and pressed themselves to it. Keith is pulling out his bayard, feeling a sense of comfort since he still has it.

"Keith?" Lance wants to know what is happening, his hand trailing up and placing itself on Keith's back like an anchor. "What do you see?" his mouth is almost pressed to Keith's ear, his voice so quiet that Keith shivers.

"Nothing yet." seconds slowly pass, their ragged breaths being the only thing to fill the silence. Looking out, Keith frowned, "It must have passed."

Lance lets out a little puff of air, "Okay," his hold on the back of Keith's armor slipped a little, almost catching Keith's hand. They pull away in surprise. Lance is stammering, "Didn't- couldn't see-" he insists.

The heat was intense and Keith was positive it wasn't because of the sun, "It's fine. Let's just get going."  
"Yeah. Yeah, sure." Lance nods quickly, lowering himself a little for Keith to put his arm over his shoulder. Getting back into the pace they had the two of them didn't talk for a while. Lance was feeling paranoid, bringing up every odd noise and then apologizing after every single one.

Keith tried to tell him that it was fine, but it was drying up his patience, "Lance- stop freaking out."

"I'm not," Lance pouts in a way that Keith refuses to find adorable.

"Yes, you are."

"Shut up," Lance looks around but doesn't say anything. Keith knows he wants to, however, and sighs.

"Did you hear something again?"  
"...Maybe-" this time Lance stops, his frown deepening. "That," he looks in one direction. Being someone who is fully relying on sound right now, Keith gives him the benefit of the doubt and listens.

It doesn't take long for him to hear the sound of heavy thumping. It was soft, but quickly growing in volume. "What is that-?" it was rapidly increasing, and Keith's tensed. It was coming right for them!

"Lance, move!" throwing themselves to the side, they both barely managed to avoid a large object barrel through. Rolling, Keith cringed at the pain shooting up his leg.

"What? What is it?!" Lance yelled in a panic, tugging them both to their feet. Not even sure himself, Keith turned to see a large creature lift itself from the foliage.

It loomed in height, it's skin a light grey. Turning to them, he could see clear spikes running along its spin- it's glowing orange eyes narrowed at them. It seemed to be clothed in light armor, a strange symbol painted on its chest.

"I think we just stumbled upon the locals," Keith says to Lance.

"Well is it friendly-?" Lance screamed when Keith had to tackle him out of the way again, "Not friendly!"

"Definitely not." Keith tugged and Lance's arm, pulling him back to pull out his bayard. This thing seemed to charge at them like a rhino would, its head tough enough to completely tear down any tree is flung itself into. "Stay back." he tells Lance, who was already pulling out his gun.

"What- no-"  
"What do you think you can do with that if you can't see?" Keith demands in frustration, this situation to tense to really argue, "Just stay back and let me handle this!"

Flinching, Lance grit his teeth, feeling a sting to Keith's word. Reluctantly pulling back, Lance listened to the sound of Keith fighting off this beast. Grunts and yells were most of what he could hear, and the occasional yelp of pain from Keith having to put his full weight on his leg.

At one point, the creature made a loud noise that echoed within the woods- like a call. A warning call.

"What is going on?" Lance begins to panic.

"We gotta go- Lance!"

"Keith?" large hands were lifting him up and he screamed, "KEITH!"

"Lance!" the thing had called for backup, leading two others to their location. The blue paladin was pulling wildly against the grip, yelling. Using a burst of adrenaline to push him, Keith ran forward, slamming the side of his blade into the hip of the alien.

It roared, dropping Lance and kicking Keith in the chest. Not quite sure what was up and what was down, Lance gasped for air, struggling to find something to hold on to.

With shaky knees, he rose and shot to his right. "Keith? Where are you?!" Unable to catch his breath, he bumped into a tree. Stumbling, he tripped and hit the ground. The sound of running feet and grinding teeth had him screaming in fright. Scrambling forward on his knees, he reached out to feel the ground- only to come up with open air. He was falling forward, tumbling down a hill. He grunted, rolling for who knows how long before stopping- bruised and dizzy.

"K-Ke-ith?" he groaned out. He had to find him. He needed to find him.

Barely to get to his feet, something smacked him in the head, and he was out cold.


	3. A hand to hold

Lance awoke to darkness.

Inhaling sharply, his muscles tightened- refusing to move until he had a grasp of where he was. With no sight to help him, he was at a lost, curled in a ball for who knows how long before he dared to even shift.

Turning over to his side, finding himself sprawled on a metal surface, he groaned. "What the hell?" he lifted himself to his knees… his bare knees.

Well, not bare, but more of armor less. Freaking, Lance patted his chest and arms- his armor was gone! He still wore the black under gear thankfully, but he was officially stripped of anything else, including his Bayard.

Great…

"Uh…" Throwing his hands around, he hit something no matter which direction he tried- it was like he was in a box. Perhaps a cage? That wasn't comforting.

Grabbing what he can only assume to be a bar, Lance reached a hand up to the side of his skull- feeling something wet. "Head injury… fantastic…" he groaned.

"Lance…?"

Startled at the call of his name, he shifted, "Keith?"  
"Yeah. Yeah, it's me." He said with a heavy gasp of air, "I'm to your right. We're in cages."

"That is a horrible thing to wake up too-" inching to the right, pressing himself as deep into the side as he could, he heard Keith ask-

"Are you okay?" gripping the edges of the bars, Lance unthinkingly stuck his hand between the spaces. He wasn't sure what he was hoping for, but when his hand grazes Keith's wrist, then his fingers, he sighed. The tight feeling that had churned in his chest released and he nodded,

"I'm okay. Where are we?"

'I don't know." Keith admits. There is a pause between them before Keith tightens his own grip on Lance's hand, flustering the other, "I got us into this mess…" he mutters.

Lance is quick to reply, despite the hammering in his ears, "Wha- no. It was two against two- or three. I couldn't see how many guys they had, but you were injured and so was I."

"I can at least see- I should have been able to get us out of there." Keith insists.

"Well- you can try to get us out of here now. Did they take your armor too?"  
"Yeah." Keith grumbles, "My Bayard too."

Playing with Keith's hand, feeling comfort from it in this situation, Lance says, "Okay- so we'll have to use something else to get out of here. Got any plans?"

"Not at the moment…" Keith clears his throat a bit, "Stop playing with my hands." He pulls them away.

"Aww." Lance pouts, feeling a little colder. "Come on, Keith. I'm panicking over here-" he wiggles his eyebrows, not even sure if the other paladin can see them through the bandages. "I feel better when I can hold onto you." As stillness falls between the two, amplified by the sound of dripping water not too far away, Lance licks his lips, "Uh-" realizing that probably sounded weird, he began to regret his request, "I mean- it is just… I can't see so having you here is- I'm really grateful you are here… Um-"

A hand quietly slips into his, squeezing, "I'm glad you are here too."

The very flustered Cuban boy who feels way over his head is beginning to panic, "Y-Yeah?"

Keith makes a noise of confirmation. "Let's just- we need to get out of here."

"Right. Right." It felt odd to be holding hands with such a distance between them, but Lance wasn't going to start voicing any complaints now- not after Keith was the one to initiate the contact. "See anything useful? Where are we exactly? Tell me what you see."

"We are in a dungeon of some sort."

"Creepy…"

"I don't see any guards, but they might be posted farther down the hall. We've definitely been caught by some sort of civilization."

"Coolio…" Jeez, Keith's hands were soft. They must have taken away his gloves too because Lance could feel every knuckle- warm and strong. "Do you like lotion?"

"What?" Keith cuts himself off from assessing the area, most likely giving Lance a peculiar look.

"Nothing." He says tightly, "Just- never mind, your hands are just soft. I was curious. I'm always a man for skin care so, you know…" he trailed off, whistling to avoid the awkwardness. "Carry on." So, losing his sight made him irrational and clingy, gotcha. They have got to fix this and fast before Lance says something he really might regret.

"….Right," Keith says just as awkwardly, his hand feeling warm all of the sudden, "There are uh… chains, on the other wall. If we could somehow reach them we could use them." The more he talked the more his confidence began to return to his voice. Lance listened, nodding from time to time to whatever the other was saying.

He couldn't help but wonder what the others were doing right now? Were they close to tracking them down? Could they even do that without their lions with them? Perhaps their lions could come get them?

Zarkon could do that, right? He could connect with the black lion from a far distance- but his connection was also really strong with the Lion's. As close as Lance claimed to be with Blue, he wasn't actually sure if their bond was strong enough to pull that off.

So unless they could get a signal out to the castle instead, they were shit out of luck. How charming.

"Hey-" pulled out of his thoughts, he straightens, "Is your head okay? I can see blood."

"I'm fine," Lance says. He felt a little light headed a while ago, but it had long since passed. "Just wish I could get some answers."  
"You and me both."

Chuckling, Lance went quiet- he could hear footsteps.

Hearing the sound of a door opening, Lance subconsciously tightened his grip. Keith's thumb brushed his knuckle soothingly- AHHHH. Keith! Now is not the time to be- y'know- sweetish! Not Swedish, but sweet… ish… Yeah.

Holding hands was a bad idea. Teammates don't usually do that. He should just let go.

….He doesn't let go. He doesn't want to let go.

Lance should really focus on whoever came in. Go to that, Lance. Focus on that.

"Oh," a soft and crackly voice speaks to them through the darkness of Lance's vision, "You are both awake. Good morning."

"Who are you? Where are we?!" Keith demanded.

"Now, now-" it was a woman from what Lance could tell, "Calm yourself. I should be the one asking the two of you that since you are the ones trespassing on our lands." There was shuffling and a few footsteps. "Did you come to spy on us?"

"No. We were just passing by, looking for help," Keith grumbles.

"We did see that you two were injured. How is your leg?"

Lance hadn't even thought of that till now, only just then realizing how worse it could be right now after all this. Turning to the direction he knew Keith was, Lance's fingers felt numb at how tightly he was holding onto him.

Keith's voice was dark when he says, "These are new bandages…"

"We disinfected it and closed the wound the best we could." The woman confirms. Lance lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"You helped him?" he asks softly, "Why?"

"We are not cruel," the woman scoffs, "I would be grateful if I were you."

Lance was, he really was. Keith not so much.

"I'll be grateful when you let us out of here," he pulled against the bar with the hand not currently clinging to Lance's. He couldn't help but wonder what this must look like to this woman.

Two guys just casually holding hands across the cell as they yell at her… yeah, that wasn't weird or anything.

"Perhaps you can answer my questions first." The woman's voice gets closer to their location, "Who do you work for? What are you exactly? I've never seen any species like you."

"We're human…" Lance says quietly, "And we don't work for anyone."

"You are not from here then. I see." The woman says softly, "Then they see you as outsiders…"

"What?"

"We are known as the Coeihns- people of the western woods; we own these lands. I am a translator amongst my people and was asked to come here and speak with you since we could not originally understand your native tongue. Your simple babble wasn't too hard to master, however."

"Simple…" Keith grouched, already disliking this woman. Lance really wished he could see what she looked like. He really wished he could just see in general. If he could, he probably wouldn't have to hang onto Keith with some death grip.

"If you do not work for our enemies, then who are you? Where are you from?"

"We are not from this planet," Lance says honestly. There was really not other option they could have except be honest.

"From the stars?" the woman sounds surprised to hear that, "Not many visit us from the sky- only purple soldiers from time to time."

"The Galra." Keith hissed, "They are here?"

"They are shot down." the cold tone is startling to the both of them. "Are you one of them? These… Galra?"

"No." they snap.

Lance pauses, "Well-" he thinks of Keith, but the red Paladin squeezes his hand enough to shut him up. Right, yes, probably not a good idea to bring that up. "We aren't one of them. In fact, we fight against them too."

"We are paladins of Voltron," Keith declares.

"Voltron? The child's tale?" the woman finds it amusing enough to laugh, "You must be joking."

"We aren't," Lance assures her. "We can even prove it if we can get in contact with our friends. Doesn't your leader have some way to contact our ship?"

"One does not simply just visit our leader unless you yourself are one of us." There is a pause, "Being outsiders, the rules are different for you." She explains, "Since we cannot confirm that you are not spies from our enemies you shall be considered prisoners of war."

"Of war?" Keith tugs violently on the bars, "We've done nothing wrong!"

"Be that as it may, we cannot take the chance."

Keith is slamming his fist, pissed, "The chance?! So you just throw random people into dungeons without so much of a trial or anything?!

"Um-" Lance lifts a hand, "Sorry to cut in, but I'm kind of blind and freaking out right now."

"I noticed." The woman says, "We looked at your eyes- there isn't much we can do other than give them time and hope for the best."

"…." Lance lowers his hand, "Okay, but um- Hi there. What is your name?" he turned to the option of avoiding the topic of his sight.

With a startled pause, the woman eventually says, "I am Tellru,"

Keith wasn't willing to say his name in reply, suspicious that this might be some kind of trick to get them to talk-

"I'm Lance."

"Lance!" he snaps, furious at the Blue paladin.

He jumps a little, "What?" he frowns.

"You just told her your name!"

"She told me hers!"

"She could be lying!"

"…Maybe I'm lying?" he offered weakly, pursing his lips. Keith slaps his own forehead, flinching when Tellru began to chuckle.

"You two are very strange. Perhaps you really aren't spies or Galra- but we still cannot trust you. For now, we shall decide where to put you within the other prisoners and scum that rot down here.

"Hey." Lance huffs

"Fun," Keith commented dryly.

"Not that you two are either of those- but perhaps I can work out something with my Lord." Tellru corrects herself.

"That would be great, thanks." Lance feels a little better about this. Tellru seemed like the most understanding person they've come across… though they haven't really had a chance to talk to anything else but her.

"If you can prove your worth, perhaps you can change your fate." She offers, and Lance doesn't want to even try to understand what she is talking about, "For now there is little to worry about. With you two being equivalents-"

"Equivalents?" Keith frowns.

"Yes, equivalents of each other." Tellru said like it should be obvious, "You two will not be separated-" Leaning a little towards the cage, Tellru sniffed them, then stepped back as if she was startled, "Oh-" she covered her mouth, frowning deeply, "Well, uh- That is very surprising."

"What?" Keith growls at her, "What are you talking about?"

Lance was shifting a little, swaying back and forth awkwardly before saying, "…Did you just smell us?" he inquires, only just hearing the sound of someone sniffing towards him.

"You two aren't-" Lance wasn't sure what was going on, but he thought Tellru backed up from their cages, "Oh. Well- this makes things different. No wonder Rashra was so insistent on keeping you alive, Red one."

Was she talking about Keith?

"Okay, yeah, Tellru- Hey, confused blind guy here, yet again. What the hell are you talking about? Who is Rashra? I would prefer to stick with my friend here. What are equivalents?" too many questions were shooting past his lips for Tellru to answer all of them immediately.

"Rashra is head of the guard, his men brought you both here." There is a sound of knocking coming from the door, "My time is almost up. I must leave soon."

"But you haven't explained anything! What the hell is going on!" Keith yells.

Tellru sighs heavily, "Why am I always the one who gets the difficult prisoners?" she grumbles, "Listen, being pure, you two will be separated. Lance, you will most likely be taken to fight amongst our champions with our other prisoners. The Red one will be added as a prize."

Lance wasn't sure what he was hearing, "Champions? Prize? What?" his head was spinning too much. Was he still dreaming? It was hard to tell when he was awake and when he was asleep sometimes with these bandages.

"He's blind! He can't fight!" Keith was quick to rage.

"Rashra will decide that for himself. Considering he saved you, I already assume he knows you are pure; you will not have much of a choice. It is sad, but there is nothing I can do about it."

"….WHAT?!" what was happening. What was she even talking about?

"Who is pure? Keith? Keith isn't pure. Far from it. Pure means you are sweet and cute- that isn't him." Lance argues. Well… sometimes he could be that, but Lance would never ever admit that aloud.

"Lance…" he can feel Keith's death glare.

"Is Keith your name?' Tellru says a little smugly.

"Lance!" the death glare was starting to actually hurt at this point- along with his hand. He really shouldn't have let Keith hold onto it.

Lance grinned nervously, "Sorry."

Tellru continued to talk in a rushed tone, "Listen, sky dwellers- I thought you were both equivalents, but you aren't. Lance, since you are not an equivalent, you are now just considered an impure- like most other prisoners. Keith is pure-" There is another heavy banging and Tellru is backing up, "I shall be back within a few hours to collect both of you. I will try my best to explain then. For now, rest up. You have a tough couple of days approaching."

Unable to stop her they sat there in a dumbfounded silence.

"So… did you get any of that?" Lance inquires, brushing his thumb over Keith's wrist, rather pleased at the feeling of such delicate skin.

… He didn't just think that, shut up.

"No. What the hell did she mean?" Keith grumbled. Lance wished he could see Keith's face- or even just the color of his form. It terrified him to think too deeply on the matter of his eyes, but he had a feeling that was the least of his worries after what Tellru said.

He would be placed with others to fight champions?

Keith would be a prize? What did they mean by that Like a prize prize- something you win at a carnival?

"What do you think equivalents are?" he inquired.

"I don't know." Keith sighs, "Apparently you are considered impure." He says it like he is teasing him.

Lance huffs a little, leaning back to press his forehead to the bars, his hand hanging loosely out of these confinements, fingers intertwined with this smug paladin. "I don't even-"

Being pure…

Sitting up, Lance covered his mouth, "Wait-" he gasped.

"What?" the red paladin grumbled.

"Keith-" he turned so fast that he could hear the other cage shake slightly in surprise. "Are you…." He couldn't say it.

Keith clicked his teeth, "What?" he snapped.

Taking a few breaths, prepared for the rage that was Keith, he cautiously asked, "Keith… Are you a virgin?"

* * *

 **Hehehehehehhe, I'm gonna have so much fun with this fanfic, I just know it. Yes, Yes little Keith is a pure little virgin.**  
 **And Lance isn't. Hope I made that obvious.**

 **So yeah, since I mention the Keith being a Galra thing just assume this takes place somewhere in season two.**  
 **Like, Shiro isn't missing yet but they have learned the truth about Keith?**  
 **... It is a fanfic, don't think too hard about it.**


	4. Separated

Lance was rubbing his swollen cheek when he said, "So, I've come to terms with the fact that what I just said was probably very, uh- _rude_ , of me to ask," he says slowly, hating this angry silence between them and wanting to mend it as fast as possible.  
An hour had passed since they spoke last, Keith still fuming that Lance had the gall to even think the question. "Rude isn't even close to cutting it."

"Right…" he nodded. Whistling a little, he says, "But the whole _Pure_ thing had to mean something and I was just trying to figure it out."

"So you instantly just turn the topic to my virginity?".

"Well- yeah! You heard Tellru! And then she called me unpure and you know, I'm not a virgin- so I just assumed?"

"You aren't?" the question was quiet. Lance felt nervous because of it, shifting uncomfortably.

"I'm not. Back at Garrison- yeah…" this was an awkward question that Lance never really talked about with people. It was just common knowledge that Lance wasn't. He was a very flirty guy who had been with a lot of people- most of them never too serious and lasted just a few shorts weeks. And not all of those people lead to sex of course, but he had done it at least twice so far.

Like hell, he was going to reveal any of those details to Keith though.

So why was this guy looking at him so intently? He could feel those eyes burning their way into his soul. It was starting to make him feel self-conscious and he had to rub at his arms.

"Who was it with?"

"That- that feels more private than the virginity question." He points out. "And you still never answered that one, you know."

Keith clears his throat, sounding tense and nervous, "Oh uh- yeah- sorry, you are right. Let us focus on escaping."

"Yeah..." Lance tapped against his cell, bored and waiting for Keith to figure out some sort of plan, "You think the others are having a better time than we are?"

"I hope so,"

"Yeah, me too…" he sniffed a bit, feeling cold, "Got any plan yet?"

'No."

Keith had already described everything he could within the room, so there really wasn't anything else to say between them. Honestly, it was strange, Lance had never been alone with Keith for this long. Sure they've gone on missions together and he honestly spends most of his day with the Red paladin but the others were _always_ present.

This was a new experience; being just the two of them. Lance wasn't quite sure how he felt about it. So far they could talk easily, and even held hands for a given hour… but now that topics were dwindling and it would just be repetitive, Lance was at a loss.

He wanted to talk to Keith. He was practically frantic to hear his voice, "Can you uh-" he cleared his throat, "Can you say something?"

"What do you want me to say?" Keith inquires sourly.

"I dunno- anything? Just talk to me,"

Keith ran a hand over his own face, grumbling. There were too many things to deal with for him to force words out of his mouth for Lance's comfort. Even if the request was super cute and he was reaching out his fingers to him all pleading and crap-

Keith reached out and took Lance's hand, "We've been in here for almost an hour, they are probably going to come get us soon. I don't know what will happen when they do but we should try and come up with a plan before then. If we get separated, I'll come get you-" Keith banged his forehead into the bars. Curse Lance's quivering bottom lip- he couldn't say no to that!

Lance was nodding, breathing steady, soaking in Keith's voice word for word. Keith had never had anyone focus so deeply on him before- it made him embarrassed about his own voice. The more he thought about it, the more it wavered when he tried to make it sound calm, "O-Okay? I'll come get you, don't try to find me on your own. Who knows where you'll end up. And don't pick any fights with anyone." He felt like a nagging parent. But Lance simply nodded from time to time. It was so unlike him to agree with Keith and just do as he says- but given Lance's current situation, he really didn't have a choice. The only thing he could trust and rely on right now was the red paladin- he wasn't going to start picking fights with him anytime soon.

"If I can get a weapon, we can get out of here,' Keith says, glancing down at the Blue paladin's knuckles.

Lance had complimented his hands earlier, but it was Lance's hands that were soft. Wasn't surprising knowing the amount of time he put into his skin every day. Now if only he trained with that much vigor.

"Keith," Lance whispers a warning, "Someone is walking this way," he was spazzing when there was a large bang. Almost jumping out of his skin he let out a startled little breath, clutching his heart to calm it. Keith brushed his thumb to Lance's knuckles- he hated seeing him so… vulnerable. That wasn't how Lance was. He was over confident and cocky- not clingy and jumpy. Though Keith can't say he really minded the uh- the clingy part.

Holding Lance's hand tight, Keith barred his teeth at the multiple guards that were walking into the room. They were just like the ones who attacked them in the woods- all bearing the same markings and armor. They were talking, chattering to themselves in a language neither of the two paladins understood,

("These them?")

("Should be.)

Keith tensed when one moved closer, kneeling down to Lance's cell. Opening it, he reached in with a large hand, gripping Lance's torso and dragging him out. Lance yelped in a panic, hand slipping from Keith's. Keith helplessly called out his name.

They threw him to the floor, hovering around him. They seemed to be sizing him up, writing down different things every time he moved.

"Keith…" Lance stumbled to his feet, flinching whenever one of the Coeihns grabbed his arm or nudged him. With the way they acted, they weren't even considering Lance a threat to them- most likely thinking that with his eye injury there was no way he could escape or hurt them.

"Keith-" Lance slapped his hand around when one tried to examine his nails. It was like they were trying to write down his physical characteristics.

Keith didn't really want to know why.

("Has its eye injury improved?") A high voice inquired, like nails on a chalkboard.

("No, sir.")

("Then he is useless,")a hand was placed on Lance's head the Coeihn tugged on his hair, forcing him forward. Unable to do anything else but follow the painful tugging, Lance grit his teeth, ("I suppose we could place him in the arena, but the fight would be too one sided- completely unenjoyable.)" Something leaned towards his face and sniffed.

Feeling a horrible chill run up his spine Lance pushed away from it, holding his hands up to block himself. ("He smells unpure, sir.")

"Keith?" he said weakly, unable to hear him through the aliens crowding him, poking and prodding at his injuries, bickering amongst themselves.

Keith was gripping the bars so hard he thought they would crack under the pressure, "I'm here!" he tried to say in an even tone but his fury was getting the best of him. He wanted these stupid aliens to leave Lance alone. He wanted them to stop touching him and bring him over here so he could hug away the fearful tremors coursing up the blue paladin's spine. "I'm here, Lance." All he could do was talk to him. It was pathetic, but if it even gave Lance the slightest comfort then Keith would scream to the heavens if he had to.

("Can't even use him as a decent prize- shame, considering his skin is immaculate.") the Coeign ran a hand across Lance's arm, feeling the smooth skin.

He blindly swatted their hands away, yelling in a panic, "Get off! Keith?" he kept calling to him in a small voice. It was the only thing he had from breaking. This helpless feeling was horrible- his body wouldn't stop shaking. If he could just see it wouldn't be that bad but he couldn't- he was trapped against the cruel touch of darkness. The only hope was Keith's voice- distant but there.

Keith was kicking against the bars, "I'm here!" he grunted, "Just- hold on. I'm stuck in the cage! I'm here!"

The hands on Lance's shoulders retreated, but the grip on his hair remained, using it to hold him in place. It hurt- especially with the injury towards the side of his skull. It was screaming at him.

The next few seconds he could hear the other cage door open. Keith, who could see the people trying to grab him, wasn't as easy to get out. He was kicking and punching- it was a good thing they brought so many guards for this because it took almost every single one of them to hold him down- injury or not.

He had even tried to make a break for Lance several times- kicking enough to knock the air out of one Coeihn and grasp Lance's arm.

Lance wasn't expecting the contact and let out a little sob- fingers barely able to graze Keith's face before they were pulled away. It was torture- worse than anything either of them had ever encountered. They just wanted to get to the other- hold them, comfort them... was that so wrong?

Tugged back, Keith flinched away when a few of these aliens started to smell him. Tellru had done so earlier, but it wasn't nearly as creepy as these guys.

("This one is pure, sir-") the Coeihn made a startled sound as if it had been punched. Keith probably punched it, Lance assumed. It almost made him laugh because that was totally what Keith would do.

"Don't sniff me you creep," Keith's voice was hissing so dark and rough that a few Coeihn almost let go of him in fear.

("What shall you have us do with him, Rashra sir?")

Lance, though he couldn't understand any other word, recognized the name- it was the one Tellru mentioned earlier. Rashra was the head of the guards and would be the one to decide where these guys took them. Having not said a word the entire time he had been here and letting his subordinates handle the situation, he finally stepped forward.

("Hold him still,") Rashra spoke and Lance swore he almost threw up. The sound of ones voice, or any sound in general right now, were his only clue to what was happening around him. They either put him on edge or calmed him down. Rashra, this guy, his voice just gave him the creeps. It was deep, slurring slightly, and there was just this undertone. It was sick and twisted and wrong. And the weirdest part was, Lance had no idea what he was saying.

It really said something when he felt this sick of a feeling towards something he couldn't understand.

("Raven hair…") Rashra gripped Keith's chin, ("How _beautiful_.")

"Don't touch me," Keith was saying.

"Yeah!" Lance startled them when he snapped, "Don't touch him!" he wasn't even sure if they were, but he had big warning alarms in his head. As frightened as he was, he was willing to throw himself at whatever was messing with Keith. The thought alone gave him a little burst of courage. He needed that.

These Coeihns though, they didn't listen. Their hands continued to wander, touching Keith's delicate locks of hair like they were as precious as gold. He bit the hand of one then lashed out at the other.

"I said don't touch me, you scum bag-!" the sound of a heavy thump could be heard. If Lance had been able to see he would have witnessed Keith lifting himself upward, using the grip of the Coeihns, and slamming both of his feet into Rashra's face. Injury or not- it made a painful crack.

("Feisty.") Rashra chuckles through a tight voice, blood dripping from his broken nose, ("He shall make an excellent prize. The people will be quite pleased. Take them away,")

Shouting when he was lifted into the air, Lance fought against the hands with all him might, calling out for the only name he could, "Keith! _Keith!_ " He didn't understand what they were saying, but he knew they were being separated. Did they decide something?! What was happening?!

He could hear the sounds of struggles behind him, the angry roars of the Red paladin echoing all the way down the hall, "Lance! Let go of me! Where are you taking him!?"

It was the last sound he heard before a door closed and he was dragged away.

" _Lance!"_

* * *

 ** _Ugh... This story is killing me. In a good way XD But it is definitely going to be a journey. Our poor red and blue paladins- they just wanna cuddle and be cute! Is that so hard to give to them!? Let the babies be together dang it!_**


	5. No choice

_"_ _Lance!"_

Lance felt like crying as he was dragged away- he sometimes wonders if he did. It was hard to tell what was blood and what were tears as it dripped down his face. His wound hadn't been doing too well lately and the bandages had started to soak through.

He would sometimes find himself blinking or trying to open his eyes out of habit- it would sting enough to have him yelling. The guards didn't really seem to care about his distress and pushed him forward.

He could hear voices around him- they called and snorted, nothing comprehensible through the language barrier between them.

In one instance, a hand, cold and rough, grabbed him arms. He screamed in terror when it tugged on him, pulling him to the right. The guards had made a grab for him, pulling against the other grip to get him back.

One guard must have attacked the other creature because it roared and released him.

Lance's wrists felt bruised from the tight grip and he rubbed at them. He wasn't given long to calm himself before they were moving again, entering a room.

Tossed downward, Lance gagged when he hit the ground. Rolling, he clutched his side, listening to the sound of what he could assume to be chains. A second later, cold metal was placed at his ankles and the door closed.

Sitting up, silence embraced him.

He seemed to be alone- but he wasn't sure. If someone was in here, they were quiet.

In any other situation, he might have made a joke. A friendly jab to the person he was with- but that was the thing. He wasn't with anybody. He had lost the only companion he had in this whole messed up world.

Keith...

Lance was losing his mind- tensing whenever something made a sound. Dripping water- calls the distance- unknown screeching and pounding of feet. He wanted to rip his own ears odd to save himself whatever sanity he had left!

Keith.

Was he okay? Where did they take him?

There was a crash of some sort in the hall and Lance tensed, a broken and wet gasp heaving through his entire body.

Keith!

God- when had he become so desperately dependent on him? Lance could barely move, his body paralyzed with fear. The fact that he couldn't see was making his body tremble. He hadn't felt this soul gripping fear before- maybe in ounces, but never this bad. He always had Keith by his side. His voice alone was a comforting assurance that things would be okay.

Now he was alone.

There is no way he can get out of this alone- he doesn't even know where he is!

 _Wait for me. I'll come get you_ _._

Keith had said that but would he even be able to do that? He had no weapons on him- outnumbered 100 to 1. God… what were they going to do?

Feeling cold, he forced himself to sit up and wrap his arms around himself.

There were chains at his feet- almost useless since he didn't dare move anyway. With walls bracing him from behind on all sides he assumed he had found himself in a corner.

A few times since he left Earth, he woke up screaming- thinking he would never be able to see Earth again. The blue oceans, green grass- his family.

Now… Well, now he feared the darkness. The pitch-black nothingness that surrounded him with sounds and voices that held no form. The whispers crawled up his skin, pinning him down. He couldn't do this…

The horrible thing was, even he if could see, would he have been able to change anything? Probably not. He would have been useless… like he always was.

No. No, thinking like that wasn't going to do him any good. He had to keep some hope with him. There was always a way to get out of any situation- you just had to find it.

So he inhaled and exhaled, repeating this process. Focusing on the sound of his own heart and lungs, he thought back to what he learned at Garrison and from the others since becoming a Paladin. They had never really discussed what to do if you went blind, but they did go over steps for if you were captured.

Keep a low profile. Be smart. Pay attention to every detail because it might just save your life. Don't overreact to things, and keep quiet. Don't panic.

That was the biggest issue Lance was having right now. Exhaustion was a strong feeling too and at some point, he must have passed out.

Perhaps hours or even day had passed before his cell doors opened again and he was jostled awake. The guards pushed through, approaching him without a word.

Sensing them, he held back a scream when they heaved him to his feet and took off the chains around his legs.

Barely able to stand, they dragged him with them- out of the cell and down the hall.

They took him somewhere new- somewhere that smelled of blood. It wasn't a comforting thought and he dug his heels into the dirt to slow the process.

All at once they were lifting him, standing him up straight on something a little off the ground, like pedestal. People were buzzing around him- saying words in a language he couldn't understand.

"What?" he asked them. He tensed when they grabbed his arms, throwing something heavy on top of them, strapping them to stick. It felt like armor- but not the normal paladin ones he used to wear.

"Um-" they were throwing something over his head and shoulder- a chest plate perhaps? It was heavy, uncomfortable and smelled like fish. Gross.

Jabbing him in the sides, he shifted to adjust it but they swatted his hands away.

"Okay- so you guys are in charge. Cool. Mind explaining what is going on?" they didn't answer. "...I can probably say whatever I want right now," he tried to say casually, using his words as a means of getting through this, "Hi, I'm Lance. I'm a paladin of Voltron. Lost my first baby tooth when I was five cause my brother threw the door against my face… I got like, 20 bucks from the tooth fairy cause I was bleeding a lot. I used it to buy a ball that my brother lost… He gave me some ice cream though so it was cool."

No one responded and continued to tie the chest plate around him. "...I like cheese?" he offered. A helmet was forced over his head and he grunted. It was tight and uncomfortable and smelled like fish. Ew.

"I probably look ridiculous right now-" he grumbled to himself.

"You look like a warrior to me,"

He recognized the voice and gasped, "Tellru?"

"Hello, Lance." She says, adjusting the fighting pads along his arms, "I am the one to help prepare you for your day."

Holy crap- Lance felt an overwhelming sensation of hope, "Tellru!" he cheered. Thank god, he found someone who could actually explain where he was and what was happening. "Where is Keith?! Is he okay?"

"He is fine, no harm has come to him," Tellru is moving around him, pulling on straps to tighten each lose piece of armor. "You on the other- you have a problem."

"I do?"

"You are next in line to fight against the champions."

Lance did not like the sound of that, "I am? Jeez- how tough are they? Why do I have to fight them? Can't I say no? I'm blind!"

"Afraid not- all prisoners fight in the arena for going against us. It is a law," Tellru sighed, "Though, my people are not without honor. Your handicap will come into account and they will go easy on you."

"...Great."

"Yes, great. Do not fret so much, Lance. You simply need to defeat one champion and you will not be required to do that again for another week. Though of course, if you wanted prizes you could fight more than one,"

"Wait-" Lance holds up a hand, "You mentioned before those pure ones become prizes. So then Keith is one?"

"Yes."

"W-What does that mean exactly?"

"Well, as according to law, each victory in the arena will be rewarded prizes. There are five warriors to battle each day, each having their own prize."

"...I'm confused."

Tellru sighed, "Well, say you defeat one champion. You could be given money as a reward- though that really isn't very useful to prisoners, normal citizen who compete often aim for that. If you defeat two you could earn money and a second prize. Each new champion earns you your own prize. If you defeat all five champions and are not a prisoner of war you are given a servant or pure."

Lance didn't like the sound of that. "Servant?" he inquires dryly.

"Well, I wouldn't say we are ones for slavery- but no one really complains when a prisoner of war is put to manual labor or given as a… um… pleasure prize."

Lance was choking on his spit, "What is Keith exactly? What is he considered?"

'He is pure- many crave for pure ones so most would look to him and wish to win him. Plus, his black hair adds a nice alluring feature to him."

"Tellru- you are freaking me out," Lance says heavily.

There is small tapping noise and he wonders if it is her nail to the table, "Since you are new I shall explain the best I can. When a Coeihn seeks a strong equivalent, they offer themselves to the arena as a prize. If someone manages to defeat all five champions they are treated with honor and are able to choose a pure as their equivalent. This is often how equivalents are decided for each other."

"Still not sure what that is."

Tellru hums a bit in thought, "An equivalent is a- well- it is a mate. A lover."

Lance is choking, nervous laughter bubbling upward, "A-And you thought K-Keith and I were-?"

"Yes, I am sorry for the misunderstanding. You two were just so close, clinging to each other… he looked at you with nothing but affection and concern whenever I saw you." she insists.

Lance felt as if everything from the tips of his ears down were burning, "What? No. Now way."

'Believe what you will." she cooed.

Back to the other subject, he asked, "Okay, so people can choose to be prizes. But you said Keith would be one- he definitely didn't choose that."

'Most prisoners of wars don't get one. It isn't the most civil thing- but most of our prisoners are enemies or spies- we have very little remorse or care for them," she says in a cold tone.

"Keith isn't an enemy or spy though!" Lance insists.

"Maybe not but that isn't for me to decide."

Lance ran a frustrated hand through his hair, "W-What happens if Keith doesn't get chosen? Will he instantly be put up as a prize?" Oh jeez, how much time did he have to figure this out?"

"Well, not all pure ones are chosen within a day. It sometimes takes weeks for someone to beat all five champions and claim a pure."

That was a relief to hear.

"But-"

Of course, there was a catch.

"At the end of the day, our higher ranking officers, if at a high enough status, can choose a pure from the group. So Keith could be chosen during any day, perhaps even today. Many people had their eyes on him… Rashra included." She hummed to herself, "In fact, I bet he was very thrilled at placing Keith as a pure."

"B-But that isn't a guarantee that he will be chosen, right?" Lance pleaded.

"Well- with how petite he is and how black his hair is- I doubt anyone wouldn't want him. He will truly be the top prize of the day. And to be pure- it is a high honor to take the purity of someone to my people. It raises your own political power."

"What kind of messed up way of living is that?!" Lance fumed. He wasn't going to just let Keith get swooped away by these weirdoes! "What is Keith says no?!" he demands, already dreading the answer, "He isn't just going to let those people- he isn't going to just let them do whatever they want with him."

Tellru was quiet before saying, "Honestly- and please don't think I ever accept this behavior, but I fear most Coeihns may just force him…"

Lance was already looking for the door, his breathing rigid, "I need to get to him."

"You cannot." Tellru insists, "I understand your concern, but my culture has rules. Strict rules that could be punishable by death if broken."

"I don't care!" Lance roared, "I'm going to find Keith and we are leaving!"

"You would never make it past the gates…" watching him pressing his hands to the wall, she sighed, "You can barely find your way out of this room."

"Shut up." he hisses.

After a long pause, she speaks up, announcing, "The only way to leave the walls would be to earn a place within the Coeihns."

Lance frowned, and turned towards her voice, "Okay? How do I do that?"

"You must earn your worth- for my people, that is with combat." She paused, murmuring. She had an idea, "Perhaps there is a way for you to get through this while recovering your mate at the same time?" she says slyly.

"N-Not my mate." He corrects, "But carry on."

"If you declare that you wish to seek the guidance of the Coeihns then you will automatically be placed on testing challenges to earn a citizenship. You would need to defeat all five champions- that would earn your place and retrieve your mate,"

"All five?" Lance paled. He would have felt a little more confident with this if he weren't currently blind. Trying his best to sound confident he says, "…Okay, can't be that hard,"

Tellru doesn't say anything and Lance bites his lips, "Why do I feel like you are bout to say something I'm really not going to like hearing?"

Tellru grimaces, "Well, I told you before that they would go easy on account of your eyesight… but, if you take up the challenge, then they won't. They will come at you full force." She pauses, "They will come at your to kill you, Lance."

Lance put his head in his hands, "Jeez…"

Tellru began to back up when someone called for her, "I'm going to go check on the fight going on now. You have 10 minutes- I'll leave you to decide on what you want to do."

He nodded meekly. What was he going to do?

He sat there thinking about it, running his mind over every option. If he went out there now he could be killed, but there was also that small almost unseen chance that he wins and he can see Keith.

If he doesn't go there is a chance that someone could win or someone just chooses Keith at the end of the day anyway. He had faith that Keith could wiggle his way out of that- but the fear that someone would still _try_ to do something unthinkable to him made Lance's skin crawl.

Either way, Lance had to go out there in a few minutes to fight- it just mattered on how far he was willing to try if he won that first match.

He pinched his cheeks, confirming that this nightmare was real when it stung, "Ow…"

"Lance!" he almost screamed when Tellru ran back into the room, breathing heavily, "I have come with news!"

"T-Tellru?" he stumbled to his feet, "What's up?"

"I-" Tellru cut herself off. Taking a few minutes to consider Lance's question she says, "T-The roof?"

Lance slaps himself, "No- forget it. What is your news? What is wrong?"

"A claim has been put on Keith,"

Lance was tripping, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her, "What?!" She swatted his hands away, pushing him back.

"No one has managed to win against the champions today- they are giving it their all," she begins to explain, "However, I just saw the announcement that Rashra has put in a claim for your mate."

This Rashra guy was really starting to piss him off, "He can do that?!"

"Yes. If someone does not beat the champions and claim your mate by sun fall then… he will go to Rashra." Lance's knees buckled and he collapsed. Tellru fell with him, startled. "A-Are you alright?"

Tellru was kind- Lance appreciated her doing this… but holy hell, what was he going to do? He had no choice now. He had to beat those champions- _today._

He couldn't wait- it was now or never.

"I'll do it," he swallowed thickly, "I'll do the challenge."

"You will?" Tellru breathed softly.

"I- yes. For Keith."

Taking a few seconds to absorb that, Tellru nodded, "I will arrange it then."

"Thank you, Tellru. You've helped me a lot,"

"Not really," she says honestly, "I've done hardly anything other than give you information,"

"Information is important sometimes." She helped him to his feet. Being this close to her, Lance had begun to realize just how big she really was. This woman was a giant- a really muscular giant with a booming voice. Once again, his wish to see was growing. Curse you Druid!

"It is time," she says when a bell starts to ring outside. Taking a shaky breath, he nodded.

"Wish me luck." Walking with her through the halls, grateful for her hand on his shoulder to guide him, they stopped before some kind of gate.

"The champions each have their own weapon," Tellru announced, "You shall be granted one as well. It can be anything you wish…" there is a pause, "I assumed that you wouldn't be familiar with any of our traditions supplies, so I took the liberty of collecting your old one."

The familiar and oh so wonderful Bayard was placed into his palm, "Tellru!" he said in awe, "Thank you!"

"Think nothing of it- though I do honestly suggest a different weapon. I'm not sure how that thing can possibly protect you."

"It'll do fine." Gripping it tightly, he heard Tellru gasp when it morphed into his gun.

"Incredible!" she says in awe, patting his back, "Good luck, Lance. May the heavens watch over you."

"Yeah…" with a little nudge, he was moving forward. Assuming he was walking down some tunnel he walked slowly, hoping to stay on the path Tellru put him on. It didn't take long to hear the roaring of a crowd, growing louder with every step.

Feeling warmth on his skin, he knew he had made it outside and into the arena.

Here goes everything.

Do it for Keith, Lance.

Survive for Keith.

Win for Keith.


	6. A right of Citizenship

The burning sensation on his wrists had hurt before, but they only felt numb to Keith now. When they separated him from Lance, they bound his wrists behind his back with metal cuffs, placing a chain on them to drag Keith where ever they wanted- like a dog on a leash.

Similar to that, it was like an endless tug a war- Keith never once bending to the will of the guards. If you didn't know what a human was you might just think Keith was some raging animal. It took at least three guards to get him down the hall and up the stairs.

He assumed they would bring him to another cell, but they brought him to a sweet smelling room instead. A few other Coeihns watched him cautiously from within- all dressed in white.

Not quite sure what this was all about, he growled at the guards when they pulled out some sort of cloth. They forced it over his head and through his arms- it was a shirt... thing? Not really a dress but not really a shirt- it was weird.

Frilly, white, and soft, they forced him to keep it on. It matched what the others were wearing. He absentmindedly wondered if this had something about being _pure._

Keith still cringed, never once thinking that this society would run so highly on whether one was a virgin or not- which, he was, despite refusing to answer Lance's question.

He had asked it so suddenly what else could Keith do but bang him on the head?

He regretted it now, his thoughts consumed with the blue paladin. Was he all right? Where did they take him? He had to get out of this mess to go find him.

These thoughts were driving him crazy as he stood in this room with these strange aliens. They stared at him like some exotic creature- all in awe but too afraid to actually go and check to see if he was real.

To them, he just seemed to glow- beautiful and dangerous, the blood of a warrior pumping through his veins. His very gaze was piercing and most had to look away.

It was very quiet.

Within a few hours, they were dragging Keith to some sort of Arena. Extravagant and packed, it was roaring with Coeihns for the upcoming matches.

Not even sure what kind of fights went on within this place, Keith was dragged up many flights of steps to sit on the top balconies.

The eyes of almost every Coeihn followed him- some in awe and others- well; it was a creepy look that Keith didn't want to think too deeply on. Because this whole place was just messed up so it was useless to try and make logic out of it.

Once they reached the top of the arena, they had chained him to the floor, placing him side by side with the other so-called prizes.

Unlike them, however- it had proven quite difficult to keep Keith where they wanted him. They had to bind his ankles and keep two guards by him at all times to make sure he didn't break lose and go on a rampage. For someone with such an injury to his leg, the Coeihns were almost impressed. Some even refused to go near him out of the fear from the death glare they received.

Tugging from time to time on his restraints, Keith grimaced. He had to get out of here and get to Lance! He didn't have time for this!

But- Getting out of this with pure force alone wasn't going to help.

He had to calm down- breath. Patience yields focus.

He had to watch for an opportunity then take it. A change in the guards, a shift in the crowd, something big to catch the attention of everyone around him.

Distracting wouldn't be too hard with the Arena before him. He had watched at least three different competitors walk out- defeated in combat.

None of them were battles to the death- but it might as well have been with how injured most competitors were when they left. From watching, Keith managed to put together some general info.

There were five main Coeihns all others fought- perhaps they were the champions of some sort. If you managed to defeat one of the five you received a prize. You could then choose to end the challenge there and take whatever prize you won or try to win more by facing other champions.

It was simple- but Keith still wasn't quite sure what the _pure's_ or whatever were here for. Tellru had said Pure's were prizes- so how come none had been chosen yet?

Perhaps you had to win against several champions. Money was one thing but he felt you should do a lot more to win over an actual person. Maybe you had to beat all five champions?

No one had managed to do that all day. Keith was not upset about that at all.

If he were given as some sort of prize, there would be hell to pay.

A bell rang across the Arena and the current match was ended. The competitor limped out of the arena, bruised and bloody and the crowd turned expectantly to the gate- eagerly awaiting the next challenger.

Keith didn't really care much for who it was- so long as they put up enough of a fight to distract the guards and give him time to figure out an escape.

All he had to do was-

His blood ran cold.

A glimpse of blue caught his eye and he sucked in a heavy breath, feeling wounded.

There was a distance between them, so it was hard to say for sure, but it had to be. He would recognize those curly brown locks and that smooth dark skin anywhere.

He was dressed in similar armor to the other champions- his Bayard at his side.

He walked in slowly, inching along the dirt till the sound of the crowd made him go still. Dried blood stained his face- the bandages no longer effective and soaking through. Oh god...

"Lance!" Keith tried to stand up. The two guards were instantly on guard, pointing their spears at him. He shot them an uncaring look, continuing to call to the blue paladin below, hoping he would hear him amongst this crowd, "Lance!"

Why was he out here?! Was he going to fight?! He was blind!

Flashes of the brutal swings and blows passed between the champion and competitor flashed in his mind and his tugged violently against his binds.

Something dark and sickly was swarming him- was it fear? He never thought he would feel fear for Lance- but within just the last two days alone this new emotion seemed to be his hearts new favorite pass time.

He had to get down there. He had to get to him.

"LANCE!"

Lance lifted his head and turned in his general direction. Unable to pinpoint exactly where Keith was because of his sight, he listened for his voice once more.

Keith gladly called to him over and over until Lance took a step closer towards the side of the arena he was at. He seemed fine- at least as fine as he could be. Besides the bandages, there weren't any obvious new injuries.

He could see Lance softly murmuring his name, turning his head to hear his voice again.

"Lance! I'm up here! I'm okay!"

Relief was washing over the blue paladin's face as he lifted a hand, hoping to kind of wave it in his direction. He was a little off, but Keith didn't care.

When the bell rang Lance tensed up, hands tightly gripping his Bayard. Lifting it, he held it out blindly. It wasn't like a sword would have done him better but what was he going to do with a gun? He might just shoot at the audience if he aimed too high.

"Hey! This isn't fair!" Keith yelled to the Coeihns next to him. He had seen the first champion- this guy didn't go easy for anything. He came at everyone with a cocky brute force. He wasn't the strongest or fastest by all means- but if he could get his hands on Lance…

The Coeihns were beginning the cheer and the first champion was stepping out. No no!

Walking into the center of the Arena he eyed Lance with a frown. Smirking, he shook his head and held his hands up. The crowd was cheering for him.

There was a sick glint in the champion's eyes- he wasn't going to go easy on Lance. He was going to beat him till he could barely breath, Keith just knew it.

There was another chime of the bell and the battle begun.

The Coeihn charged with a cruel laugh, making a b-line for the unknowing blue Paladin.

Lance froze when he got close, stumbled, and yelled when the Coeihn barreled into him like a bull. Flung to the side, he rolled across the Arena. Keith was screaming till his voice was raw.

The champion was soaking up the attention- pausing to gloat and circling the arena to get the crowd to start chanting for him. They gladly did so, clapping and stomping.

It was enough of a moment to allow Lance to shakily get to his feet; his side undoubtedly bruises from head to tow.

Touching the ground aimlessly, he lifted his Bayard up. His back was turned to the champion, not sure where he was.

Keith tried to scream a warning, but his voice was lost in the sea of cheers.

Like a sick joke, the Coeihn barreled into Lance from behind, checking him like a doll a good couple of feet into the air. Lance hit the floor hard and contorted into himself, gasping and heaving when the wind was knocked out of him.

Keith had been on the losing end of fights when he was younger- never one to sit still if he thought something wasn't right. As much as those fights had hurt or how injured he got- none of them compared to this hideous sensation churning his gut, forced to watch the Coeihn lift Lance by the back of his armor and hold him high.

Unable to catch his breath, Lance squirmed against the grip, heaving and clinging to his Bayard for everything he had. The Coeihn threw him as far as he could and Lance stopped moving.

Keith felt his wrists beginning to bleed, the metal cutting so deep that it would undoubtedly scar. He didn't care- infact; the pain wasn't even registering in his mind. All he could see, hear, and scream was Lance.

Tellru had said her people weren't cruel… she lied. This was sadistic.

Lance moved.

The crowd had started to grow quiet as he seemed to twitch, slowly rising to his knees, then to his feet. They were watching with baited breaths, all waiting eagerly for the next action- knowing it wouldn't be long for their champion to finish this sad excuse for a fight.

Keith yelled till he felt a sob break his voice.

Lance turned his head suddenly, his gaze- if he could see- would have been on Keith. Had he... heard him?

Startled, Keith felt a sense of awe when Lance smiled. He lifted his Bayard without a word and turned away- he turned to the Coeihn Champion.

After boasting to the audience, it began to run towards Lance and all fours.

Lance went still- his entire body tensing. The crowd was going nuts- ready for him to be torn to shreds at any moment due to his handicap. The next set of motions however shocked the entire crowd speechless.

The first champion had moved towards Lance like a stampeding Rhino, kicking up dirt with each step. If he rammed into him, he would undoubtedly break ever bone in the smaller life form's body- killing him instantly. His goal was to kill him...

Keith felt a cold fear grip his chest for only a second until Lance stepped to the side. With more grace than anyone had expected from him, he avoided the charge- side stepping around the champion and lifting his Bayard.

A bullet pierced the champion's side and he fell over, screaming in pain.

A pen could have dropped and Keith would have heard it from a mile away- it was that quiet amongst the crowd. No one could wrap their minds around what they had just witnessed. It was unbelievable…

Keith honestly thought the Coeihn was going to get up- but the wound must have been worse than he first thought because he still withered on the floor, screaming.

Bleeding out and undoubtedly on the verge of death unless given immediate medical attention, the match was ended.

The champion was taken away and Lance- well, he won.

Keith was cheering until his voice felt hoarse, unable to believe his eyes. How had he managed to do that?! Was his sight better or had he relied on his ears alone to figure out which direction the champion was coming from? God, it didn't matter! Lance won!

The crowd that had previously been against him were slowly raising their voices- impressed and in awe.

Tellru was running out, placing her hands on Lance's shoulder to steady him. Going to a knee, he waved her off; his entire body shaking with each breath his took.

Giving him a light pat on the back, Tellru straightened and turned to the crowd. Her voice booming over the people, she said, ("We have our victor!") The crowd's cheers were causing the stadium to shake, ("Now, in honor of our laws, our victor has decided to not take a lower prize and instead seeks something greater!")

Keith wished she spoke in English- he couldn't understand a word she was saying. The crowd seemed to grow quiet, all sharing a look of confusion. When Tellru raised Lance's hand, they were shocked when she declared, ("Our victor has taken up the passage of Coeihns and will challenge all four remaining champions to battle for the right of citizenship. As well as a claim on a pure!")

...What?

No really, what? What was she saying? Keith didn't understand. Lance seemed to be just as confused as Keith was and was tugging on Tellru's sleeve. She rolled her eyes and yelled, "For those who don't speak in Coeihn, I just said that Lance will be fighting four more champions to earn a citizenship! As well as earn back his mate-"

"He's not my mate!" Lance squeaked.

Keith couldn't breath. For multiple reasons...

He was going to ignore the mate thing for now and focus on the second part.

Lance could barely handle that last battle, and that was the weakest champion of the five. What was Lance thinking?! He won! He could leave- why the hell was he staying?!

"Lance! What the hell! Don't be an idiot!" Keith was voicing his complaints, most Coeihns staring at him with a confused shock, not sure what he was saying. Lance did, however, and gave Keith a thumbs up. "No this isn't okay!" Keith argued.

Lance gave him two thumbs up.

"Lance, you better listen to me, dammit! Don't do this!" There was a grin and Lance lifted his thumbs a little higher. "You are blind, not deaf you piece of crap! Lance!"

Waving him off, Lance turned and said something to Tellru. She nodded and left the Arena.

If the crowd wasn't pumped before, they were now at the news of Lance's challenge. It wasn't often anyone went through the right of citizenship, and all weren't actually sure how this would turn out. The Blue paladin had surprised them before after all- he might just do it again.

So they lifted their hands and gave him a cheer, clapping when the bell rang.

The second champion, oddly enough, went down within the first 30 seconds of the battle. Lance had been clever, using noise to discover the location of the champion.

Coeihns who were naturally so big often made large stomping sounds when walking and Lance was able to quickly pinpoint where they were. This champion, in particular, was a big stocky one that crunched the ground with every single step.

While Keith never verbally agreed to Lance being the 'sharpshooter' of the group, due to the fact that he didn't want to feed the guy's ego- he couldn't deny that Lance was an amazing shot. As long as he had a general idea- he could usually hit anything- unlike Keith, who could barely hit anything when given a gun.

He's tried.

So Keith honestly wasn't that shocked when Lance simply lifted his Bayard when the bell was rung and fired- winning the match in a heartbeat.

It was almost kind of funny to see how dumbfounded everyone was.

In fact, Lance even seemed a little surprised. He seemed confident that he would hit the guy but didn't think he would hit something as spot on as the Coeihns leg, making it impossible for him to carry on.

Standing there, Lance slowly began to whistle and stepped back, lifting a hand up to wave blindly to the people. He was looking around- listening.  
Realizing what he was looking for, Keith gave him a cheer. Lance grinned from ear to ear.

For a moment Keith actually thought Lance might be able to pull this off.

Injured or not, Lance was starting to get use to his handicap, relying on all his other senses to get through the situation.

Lance had to run when the 3rd champion came out and the match began. This one was faster than the others and not as large. It was almost comedic, Lance running in strange patterns not sure where he was going. The Coeihn almost grabbed him in several instances but Lance's zig zag turns were too random to predict.

The Audience went kind of quiet at the sight, some snickering a little and just enjoying the show for what it was; A strange little paladin with no chance of winning some how lasting longer and longer with each passing second and was just screaming the whole time.

Keith was terrified before. Now he was just- how could he describe this feeling? It… well it was probably something along the lines of utter irritation. Was Lance taking this seriously at all?

Oh course he was but it was Lance…

When the Coeihn was finally able to corner the blue paladin, he grabbed him by the back of the neck and lifted him up. Lance turned, slamming his Bayard into the guy's face. Falling on top of each the two rolled around in a panic ball of limbs and punching.

There was the sound of firing, and the Coeihn fell over- blooding oozing from it's shoulder, the rest of it's armor seared from the intense heat of the bullet.

Lance stumbled back then, gasping for air and dabbing sweat and blood from his chin.

Keith gave him a cheer and Lance gave him a thumbs up. Two more.

Keith could hardly believe he was saying this, but two more and Lance won. Of course each champion was suppose to get tougher, despite what he had just seen. Lance would have to use every ounce of training he had.

But Keith had to wonder... how much energy did Lance have left after all of this? To him it looked like Lance was running on fumes. It was only two more champions... but could Lance even handle one more?

He hoped so...


	7. I wanted to see you

Lance had fired his Bayard and missed twice when the fourth champion came forth. He was faster than all the other three, but wasn't as strong- Lance figured that much out when a fist was slammed into his chin.

Feeling like his jaw might crack in half, he swung his Bayard up. It was caught and then twisted.

A breath caught in his throat when his Bayard was ripped from his fingertips and tossed to the side. He could hear where it landed and turned to run for it-

Something long slammed into his side; a spear perhaps? It fell like wood with something jagged at the end that sliced into the edge of his undergear. Turning away from the sensation, a hand grasped at the back of his head.

When the knee collided to his face, Lance saw colors- it was a very odd sensation to go from darkness to a blinding yellow and purple. His ears rang- a vague applaud from the audience echoed, but they sounded like they were on the far end of a long tunnel.

Lance wasn't fast enough to turn and gain his balance back- the champion was already swinging again. The blow was to his chest, pounding once then twice against his ribs- he heard a crack and an unbearable heaving pain overwhelmed him.

Staggering, Lance croaked something along the lines of a cut off scream. His knees hit the floor, and two hands moved towards his throat.

Feeling a pump of panic kick his senses into gear, Lance gripped tightly at the wrists and pulled back, pulling the champion to the floor with him. They rolled, punches thrown wildly between the two.

Lance was surprised at how desperate he was when he bit down on the Champions hand, prompting a furious yell.

Scrambling away, pulling on dirt and mud- Lance lifted his fists, unknowingly managing to block an elbow aimed to the side of his head. It knocked him off balance, a budding bruise pushing up against his lower arm.

He thought he knew what it was like to fight for his life. It sounded like a simple idea in thought- you fight as hard as your can to stay alive. Everyone knew that. He had done that as a Paladin since day one. He fought and pushed himself- giving everything he had. He was wrong- Lance didn't try then. Compared to know, Lance actually felt like he was being pretty lazy.

He had back up in those moments.

He had his vision in those moments.

Right now- he had nothing but his own two hands. The pure adrenaline that tickled his spine was numbing, his breathing so sharp that he couldn't remember a time his lungs weren't burning.

His mind was clouded with _run, fight, run, fight. Stay alive. Don't die. Don't die. I don't want to die. Fight._

He didn't care about the audience- he had forgotten about them long ago. He couldn't even recall Keith's voice anymore- it was lost to him.

Pain and fear were his only companions now.

He felt there wasn't a place on his entire body the Champion hadn't struck- cracking and bruising every muscle and bone he had. In time it all faded away- pain feeling _normal._

Yelling as something sliced into his shoulder, he stepped back. This thing was tearing him apart- did he even have a chance at winning?

What happened again if he lost? They killed him, right? Or they killed him during the fight. The pain would end if he was dead- but then there was Keith.

 _Keith._

He was still out there- within this crowd, alone. Keith was always alone.

He didn't have parents. When Shiro was supposedly dead he didn't have friends. He lived in the canyons by himself for an entire year.

In that fleeting instant, when Lance realized this might be the end, he wished he had given Keith more.

Amazed at how time seemed to slow down, Lance could only think of that Red paladin. Think of the life he had and how he wished he could show him that he didn't need to be alone anymore. That he never needed to go at things solo anymore and deserved to have a family as much as anyone else.

He wished he could have introduced Keith to his family- they would have loved him.

If anything, a sense of comfort came from thinking about him so much. Even if Lance died right here and now, Keith would be alive. It wouldn't be easy for him by any means, but he was strong. Stronger than Lance could ever admit before.

He would figure a way out of this- injured or not. Then the team would find him after a while and he would go back to being a paladin. They would save the universe and Earth would be safe. His family would be safe.

He hoped at least Hunk or someone would tell them that he tried.

He tried to be strong for them… for Keith, but he just couldn't do it. He never could.

That confidence and courage he boasted before, that was all for show. He was petrified every time he woke up, fearing what battle they would face later that day. Would he live to the next morning? Would he be stupid and get his teammates killed? Did they even need him there?

How long had he gone putting on some brave front for the others so they wouldn't realize he was breaking on the inside? Since the beginning he guessed.

Keith was different, though. Keith was amazing. Keith would be fine even if he wasn't around.

" _Lance!"_

Lance lifted his head. Keith was calling for him.

Wait, Keith was calling for him? Right now?

Remembering that he was somewhere above him in the crowd, a sense of clarity washed over the blue paladin. He was still fighting- he was still breathing.

He was still here.

This wasn't over yet.

In that moment, a hand grabbed his arm, flipping him over the shoulder of the Coeihn and onto the ground. In a quick set of motions, Lance kicked out blindly- catching the champion in the chest. He huffed and fell back- something hit the ground. Something lighter and more hollow than the champion.

With a resounding click, like stone to metal, Lance focused on it. His mind was moving a mile a minute, his thoughts thinking of nothing else.

 _Grab it._

His entire body was screaming.

The location still fresh in his mind, he made a grab for the general location. A rush of footsteps was hot on his trail.

He tensed, feeling his knuckles brush something. It was wood- he swung it.

Realizing it was the Champions fallen spear only after it managed to collide into his jaw- Lance swung it a few more times. He missed every single time except for the last one- smacking it into the Champion's armor. It caught in the straps of it and Lance pulled the Coeihn with him when he tried to retract it.

Not expecting the extra weight, Lance fell back.

The Coeihn barreled into him, bracing himself and punching a fist to Lance's jaw. Lance pulled back the Spear, then jabbed it forward. Grazing only armor at first he tried again when the champion tried to pull away.

He pierced something much softer and the Coeihn gagged.

Caught between this moment and the racing of his pulse, Lance felt something wet.

Blood blossomed at his palm- sickening him. He had stabbed him with the spear...

Pushing away from the Coeihn, crawling back, Lance could hear him hit the floor. Where had he just hit him?

He was alive still- right?

Killing hadn't been a thought that crossed Lance's mind often when fighting the Galra- or more of, he never wanted to think too deeply on it. It was undeniable that the explosions and damage that his Blue lion could do would undoubtedly take out a few lives if close enough… but he just willed himself to ignore it.

Ignore every wet crunch or sizzling burn he heard every time he fired his gun.

Everyone on team Voltron did. They could get through the nights easier if they did that. But those sounds were all Lance could think off right now. From the screams of the Coeihns and the previous Champions he knew they were still alive when he fired at them.

This champion was silent… unmoving.

"H-Hey…" Lance whispers, a taste of iron in his mouth, "You okay?" Whether the Coeihn could understand him or not didn't matter, it didn't make a sound either way. "Hey… Hey!" he shook them a little. He didn't respond, his entire body limp. God. Oh god. No no.

The crowd was in an uproar, startling Lance right out of his skin. Many were already rushing out, ushering him away and dragging the champion out. Lance was frantic, "Is he okay? Hey! Is he going to be okay! Is he breathing?!"

His Bayard was placed into his hands and he was pushed back. Stumbling, he could hear the cleanup crew or whatever they were called leaving. The match was over.

The blood was still warm on his fingers.

Desperate to ride himself of the feeling, he brushed them against his pant leg, gasping heavily. He… he had to focus. Forget it for now. That was only the fourth champion. There was still one more.

Exhaustion was hitting him as the fear of death subsided- adrenaline was fading. Bouncing a little to keep himself moving he ran his hands over his Bayard. He had to finish this battle as soon as he could. Fire as soon as the enemy came out.

He… He felt like he was going to throw up.

When the final champion came out- Lance was barely able to stand. Everything was spinning- or at least felt like it. Being unable to actually see if he was or not just made it all the more nauseating.

He couldn't do this…

The crowd began to chant something, "Dravla. Dravla," they said. He couldn't tell if it was a title or the champion's name. Feeling almost tribal, the crowd began to slam their fists together, echoing. They adored this champion.

How powerful was he, exactly? Obviously Pure ones were chosen so he was able to be defeated, but Lance could hardly beat the last one...

"So, is Lance you?," the voice sounded muffled as if a mask was covering his face. It was the champion in front of him- he had gotten so close without Lance even realizing.

Caught off guard when the Coeihn spoke English Lance stammered, "Wha- you can understand me?" it felt like a battle to simply breath at this point. He couldn't be wasting it on conversation...

"I had a few hours to get an idea of it- pardon me if I make a few mistakes from time to time." the champion wasn't attacking, only talking. Lance wasn't willing to put down his guard. "I am Dravla- Would you like me to give you a moment to collect yourself?"

Lance was puzzled- was this guy being nice to him? Was it a trick? Was it out of pity? "I don't need any pity. If you are going to attack than just do it- I have to beat you before sun fall."

Dravla must have taken a moment to look around, saying, "Yes, it is drawing near. Possible 30 minutes."

30 minutes? Lance sucked in a heavy breath and lifted his Bayard. He had to finish this quickly. "No offense to you- but I don't have time for this,"

"Then just listen-" in a set of motions, Dravla had grabbed his Bayard and lifted it, causing Lance to fire into the open air. Grabbing his arm, he turned the Paladin and pinned him by the arm. Lance grunted, pulling wildly at the hold. "We don't have much time-" he says into Lance's ear. "I am an ally."

Lance fell still, "What?" he breathed heavily.

"Hold on-" He flipped Lance onto his back, What the hell? Ally his ass! "Sorry. Sorry," With every punch that connected with his face he could hear Dravla muttering. It was starting to get annoying. "This might hurt-," Dravla grabbed his ankle and spun him like a bag of potatoes. Yelling, Lance was thrown across the arena, barely able to roll onto his stomach before Dravla was heaving him to his feet and had him in a choker hold. "Gotta make this look convincing,"

Lance didn't understand, but despite how tight the hold was… he could breath just fine. "Who-?"

"Tellru had requested I aid you, so stop gabbing or everyone will get-" he paused. He couldn't think of the word, "Get… not, uh- they will think it is unusual that we are speaking. Listen- I placed a bell on my lower back. It should ring every time I move-" they stumbled a bit and Lance could hear it faintly.

From where the audience was, he had no doubt that they couldn't hear a sound- but Lance could.

"I need you to aim for that with your weapon."

Lance took a few heavy breaths, "Why-"

'I said don't talk. Just do it. Lift you ankle a little bit behind you and trip me. From there I will release you enough for you to break free of my hold. Don't hesitate to take the shot when I get up. The more time I have to fight the quicklier- uh, faster, I learn the enemy's weaknesses. If you don't take me out soon everyone will think I went easy on you. That weapon you use is formidable if used correctly, so do not hesitate. No one will think twice about it."

Lance didn't know what to think. Could he even trust this? It felt too planned to be a lie.

Taking a big risk, he says, "...Okay."."

"Good, here we go."  
Lance lifted his foot back, grazing Dravla's ankle and tugging on it. Dravla fell back and Lance pushed forward. Stumbling slightly, he turned and lifted his Bayard.

A small sound of a bell and he was firing.

Hearing a heavy thump, he knew Dravla had fallen. Was he okay? Lance wasn't sure- he could hear a few Coeihns coming out to drag Dravla away like they did with every Champion. As they passed, he faintly heard, "Well done…"

It was simple- it felt forced… but the crowd was loving it. In whatever means, Lance seemed to have won over their affection and could hear them chanting something.

("Blue champion! Blue Champion!")

Lance didn't understand- he didn't want to. He just wanted to curl up and sleep in a hole for 10,000 years. That sounded awesome right about now.

"Lance," when he fell back, a hand was pressed to his back and caught him. "You did well,"

"Tellru?" he murmured.

"It is over." she allowed him to lean on her, and then lifted her head to the crowd. ("We have our new champion of champions!") Tellru roared. The crowd was on their feet, chanting and going nuts. "Champion-!" Tellru took Lance's arm, holding it tight to keep him upright and lifted it above his head, "(You have proven your worth.")

He gave a weak thumbs up, very shaky on his own two feet. "Don't know what you are saying but cool…,"

("The Champion will now choose his pure!)" She turned to him, "You may choose your pure."

Lance gasped and stood up straight at the notion. "Keith!" he tugged on Tellru's sleeve. Knowing what he wanted, she moved his hand it so that he pointed to Keith. "Him! I choose Keith!" he gasped out, a new burst of energy running through him, "I want Keith! I want Keith! I want Keith!" he chanting like a child in a candy store, pumping his fists up and down, "Keith! Keith! Where are you!?" when he tried to leave, Tellru held him in place, telling him to wait. "Keithhhhhhh~~~~" he slurred. Fatigue was slamming into him and he stumbled like a drunken fool. "Oh my gosh I'm tired- KEITHHHHHHHH!" he titled his head back and yelled the name to the heavens, "Whoop whoop! Keithyyy keith!" he continues to yell the name like the very word was the highlight of his day. Which in truth, it was.

Tellru was smirking a little, finding it amusing how the Red paladin grow red in the face and tried to hide it at Lance's outburst, ("He has chosen the pure with the raven hair!")

The crowd was humming or doing something in joy of Lance's choice and some even giving boos at the loss of such a prize- but all were accepting

Then, they made a break for the Arena, climbing over the railings to the champions below.

"Wait-" Lance could tell many people were approaching him, "Tellru?" he panicked.

"Fear not, they will simply bring you to your new living quarters. Keith will be brought to you there."

"Oh- okay. Hey-" he gripped her shoulder, "Thank you."

"Of course… champion." She chuckled as a few Coeihns lifted him into the air.

Like a hero of honor, they carried him about the place. Lance just kind of laid there and let them, listening quietly to the cheering and bellowing in his honor. After what he went through, he did not mind being carried around.

He almost fell asleep- barely able to keep his mind clear enough to realize they head reached their destination.

Carefully placing him within, they said a few things he didn't understand and put something like a blanket on his shoulders.

He heard a door click and it fell quiet, "…Uh," He held up a nervous, "Hello?" realizing he was alone, he made a few grumbling noises. This would be so much easier if he could just see.

Where did they take him? Where was Keith?

Was he being brought here now? Could he see him now? Or… hear him now?

He wanted a hug. He was going to get a hug. By Odin's beard if Keith didn't give him a hug for everything that just happened he was going to yell. Or cry. Probably both.

Where was Keith again?

Lance inched around the room to try and catch his bearings. His body was so sore, refusing to listen to most of his commands. Managing to find something along a chair, he collapsed into it. He had done it.

Through some miracle, he had won.

" _Let go_!" the familiar sound of screams had him jumping to his feet. Hearing the door open, heavy footsteps entered the room. They were dragging a pissed red paladin, tossing him inside before closing the door behind him.

"Why you-!"

"Keith?!" he yelled.

There was a gasp, "Lance?"

When a weight collapsed on him, he grunted and fell back into the chair, a form half straddling him. Feeling a familiar warmth leaning into his chest, he wrapped his arms around their waist, "Keith." He breathed into his hair. It was him. He was here. They were hugging- it was awesome, "Keith…" A thousand beatings were worth it if he could stay like this forever.

Keith was pressing his face against Lance's chest but didn't wrap his arms around him- but it didn't take Lance long to realize that it was because his hands were cuffed behind him.

"Oh hey-" Lance slides his arm down the other's arm to the cuffs, fumbling around with them till he heard a click and they slide off, "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Keith huffed heavily, voice high pitched, "You're crazy!"

"I- yeah." He couldn't argue, "Yeah I am." Chuckling, he squeezed Keith with all his might, "Did they hurt you?"

"I just said that I'm fine," Keith mumbled into shoulder. His hands were moving to his Lance's face, examining the damage, "You should be worried about yourself- you look terrible."

"Gee, thanks. That is _exactly_ what I wanna hear right now…" he paused. "Keith?"

"What?"

"What is wrong with your voice?" it sounded like he was losing it.  
"Nothing,"  
"You sound like an old man," Lance snickers.

"I was screaming a lot today- okay?' Keith huffs, "Now shut up and just- C'mere." he was dragging Lance across the room, sitting him down. A few seconds later and a wet piece of clothes was dabbing against his bloody cheek. Lance was bleeding from several wounds across his shoulders and lower arms. He almost forgot they were there till Keith started to patch them up.

Thank you Coran for that tutorial on taking care of wounds!

Deciding to just take it easy, Lance left Keith get to work. They didn't say much, both just enjoying the fact that the other was here and breathing. Keith's fingers felt warm and gentle against his scalp when he dabbed the blood out of his hair. "I really look that bad?" he inquired.

"You look like you were in a war…"

"I think I kind of was,"

"You're an idiot, you know that, right?"

"I've been told," Lance grinned, "But I didn't really have a choice,'

"Yes you did," Keith scowls, "We could have found another way. One that didn't involve you getting beat to death,"

Lance shrugged a little, "I... I just-" he lifted his hand to grip Keith's wrist, "I just wanted to see you as fast as possible."

Sucking in a breath, as if he were wounded, Keith bit his lower lip, "Just-" he sighed brokenly, "Never do something like that again, Lance. Okay?" he pleaded with a shaky voice.

Lance nodded, "Okay."

"Good," With a considerate pause, he slowly tilted Lance's head back, "This hurt?" he pushed the cloth to Lance's temple, holding it there. The cool feel of it was wonderful.

"Nope. I'm good-" he fell forward, his body giving out on him. Catching him, grunting in surprise, Keith rolling him onto his back.

"Lance?" he panicked.

"Sorry just…" he could barely move, "Tired…"

Keith took a few little breaths, "Okay- don't worry, I Got'cha." lifting Lance's arm over his shoulder, he tugged him to his feet. Helping him to the other side of the room, he heaved Lance onto the edge of something soft. A bed perhaps. "I'm gonna take off the chest plate,"  
"Kay…"

With nimble fingers the metal armor was sliding up and over his head. "Here, lay down," he pressed into Lance's shoulder, slowly lowering his head down to the bed.

Lance couldn't help but nuzzle into Keith's neck. It was soft..

"What are you wearing?" Lance squeezed Keith's shoulders, feeling something smooth and- frilly? "Dude, what is this?"

'I don't know." Keith says absentmindedly, lifting Lance's leg up onto the bed, "They just threw it on me."

"It's super soft," he marveled.

"I guess?" Keith shrugged, "Stop talking for a second- Jeez…" the wound on Lance's side was deep. Turning him over to his side, Keith pressed a pad to it. The blue Paladin tensed at the sensation and grimaced. "Sorry…" Keith reached for some bandages, "I'll take care of it so just- save your energy. Go to sleep."

"I don't want to."  
"It is fine, Lance."  
'I want to talk with you."

Keith's hands paused, "You can talk to me later."

Lance bit his lower lip feeling so tired and weak... That wasn't going to cut it; "I want to talk with you now,"

"You can talk to me later," Keith insists.

"Now."

"Lance-"

"Hey, I went through hell and back to try and get us out of this, and I did," Lance felt a little choked up "And I almost died, several times today. A little gratitude would be nice so just- how about a thank you? Or just let me talk to you. Let me hear your voice…"

There was a long silence, filled with heavy breaths from Keith's nose, "…Okay. Okay, fine. Thank you," his hand hesitantly slides up to cup the side of Lance's face. With a softer tone he repeats, "Thank you, Lance."

Not quite expecting something so sincere, Lance nodded timidly, "Uh- well yeah, of course. No problem…" he exhaled, enjoying the feeling of Keith's touch on his chin. He didn't care if that sounded weird or bizarre- after what he's been through he was almost willing to kiss the guy.

A-Almost! Don't take that out of context- though that is probably impossible, still don't!

"Hold on- there is some water over there." Keith starts towards it. Lance can hear the slight limp in his steps.

"How is your leg?"

"I'll survive,"

"I will survive~" Lance slurred a song.

"Don't break into song," Keith pleaded with a groan.

"I just might- I'm in a mood right now. I feel like I could fly… I believe I can fly~"

"You're getting delusional," Keith says, "I think you should really take a nap or something,"

"Later,"

"Keith,"

"You owe me big." Lance drawled out. He could hear Keith rinsing out the rag before he sighed.

"I know."

"Really big."

"I said thank you."

"Ah, not enough." Lance wiggled a finger to himself, "C'mere."

"What?"

"C'mere." He says again. The soft padding of feet and Keith was in front of him. Lance lifted his hands and let them hover for a second before he reached out. Lance will forever and always blame his actions and his inability to think straight on the fact that he was tired. So tired that at this point, he felt bold enough to say, "I really like this shirt on you. I like how soft it is…"His hand fell upon Keith's stomach, entangling his fingers into the fabric. The red Paladin tensed below him, making a little noise before going quiet, "You know I am one for clothes- and you are killing me here, so you gotta tell me exactly what you are wearing."

Keith stammered, "W-What? No."

"I saved you from becoming the virgin prize to some alien! You owe me!" he jabbed his finger into his stomach before hitting his belly button. Keith stepped back a bit, grunting.

"Fine! Jeez…" Sounding a little uneasy with the request he made a noise of discomfort, "…I'm wearing my normal paladin suit- the under suit. I don't know what they did with the armor of it."

"Yeah, me either." Lance rubs his chin, "What else?"

"A shirt. A white one- it is just- I dunno, silky and wavy." His voice dies into a mutter. Lance wondered if he was embarrassed.

"That it?" Lance says, not given much to picture with that poor description.

"What else do you want me to say?"

"Details,"

"They put stupid flowers in my hair, that is the only other thing I can add to this."

"Did you take out the flowers?"

"Of course I did,"

Lance sighed, "Shame."

"Shame?"

Lance thought that flowers would match nicely with Keith's hair, but he wasn't going to voice that. Instead he avoided the topic, "So just the undergear and a very silky shirt?" he gripped the bottom of the shirt, running it between his fingers. It was so soft. Softest thing he's ever felt. It made him want to wear one as pajamas.

Keith grumbled, "Yeah. That good enough for you?"

"Yup."

'Good- I'm taking this thing off and getting rid of it," he can hear Keith removing it.

"What?" Lance whined, "Nooo~"

"Why in the world not?"

"Because I want to see it! You gotta keep it!"

"Are you serious?! No!"

"Come on, Keith! Don't be mean!"

"You are the one being ridiculous here, Lance. I'm not keeping something like this!"

"But the fabric is so niceeeeeeee."

There was a light tap on his forehead, "No."  
He whined, "Fine…" Waiting a few seconds, he could feel the wet cloth against his hands, brushing off any dry blood that lingered there.

"You should really get some sleep,"

"What if someone comes by?" Lance says, not even fully sure how this ritual thing worked and how deeply he was accepted into this society.

"Then I'll wake you."

Lance couldn't really argue with this anymore. His body was giving out on him, shutting him down faster than he could go against it. He sighs, "Okay. Okay yeah, I'll sleep for a little bit…"

"Lance?"

"Hmm?"

"I-" a few fingers, hesitant and warm, move into his hair, gently caressing it. "Thank you. You did great today…"

Leaning into the touch, Lance hummed in appreciation, "Anytime Pelo de cuervo,"

Keith inquires, "What does that mean?"

"Nothing," Lance giggles a little, feeling sleep already starting to dawn on him.

"Seriously, what does it mean?" Keith insists.

"Well- you were all popular for you black hair… everyone called you the raven haired pure. What I said basically means crow hair- since you have hair as black as a crow's." Lance amazingly manages to reach up and grab a lock of Keith's hair on the first try and twirls it between his fingers. "It is actually really-" he yawns, head turning deeper into the pillow, "Beautiful." He is out like a light a second later.

Keith's ears a red and hot for the next hour, cursing this sly and very stupid blue paladin.


	8. Hit the town

Lance had been asleep for two days.

Time had never moved at such a slow pace to Keith- each second feeling as though a thousand years had passed.

During that time, Tellru had appeared at the door, bringing a doctor with her. Keith didn't want to let them in, but there was only so much he could do for Lance. So with a grit in his teeth, he let the doctor approach the unconscious Paladin. Keith kept close and was ready to pounce the second something seemed strange.

While Keith had been able to clean the wounds expertly, actually closing them had been difficult without the doctor's assistance. He sewed them up, bandaging them thoroughly. He even took off the bandages around Lance's eyes.

Keith couldn't help but grip Lance's hand at the sight of them. The slash had been deep and jagged, cutting perfectly right across his right eye and up from his left.

"What gave him such a wound?" Tellru inquired, "Were you attacked on the way here?"

"...Galra," He says, "We mentioned that before- we are their enemies too,"

Tellru nods, pausing when the doctor said something, "We are going to put a few herbs on them. They look bad, but there is a chance they will heal if we act fast enough. I can't guarantee we can mend them, but we will try,".

Keith nodded numbly, "If you can try… then try," He watched the doctor pull out a few herbs, pressing them together and putting in water and something else. Smooshing them together they seemed to make a kind of sticky substance that he smeared along Lance's wound. The blue Paladin stirred only slightly from the sensation but quickly fell quiet again, his hand tightening around Keith's.

After at least an hour, the doctor rose, bowed his head to Keith, and left.

"Do you require anything?" Tellru inquired at the door, "I can bring you some food if you wish,"

"...Sure," he didn't move, unable to tear his eyes away from Lance.

Tapping her finger against the door frame, Tellru hesitantly said, "...He must care about you a lot,"

Keith slowly tore his gaze from Lance to look at her, "What?"

"He wasn't going to go through with the challenge at first… he was terrified. But when he discovered that there was a claim on you- which means that Rashra would have taken you as his own pure at sundown… well, he didn't hesitate. He wanted to get to you no matter what,"

Keith couldn't swallow for a few seconds, his tongue thick and mouth dry, "Why are you telling me this?" he croaked.

"I'm not sure," she admits, "I just felt that you should know." reaching into her bag, she pulled two objects out and tossed them to him, "Here,"

Catching them, Keith was pleased to discover it was both his and Lance's Bayard, "Are you even allowed to give me these?" he questioned.

"Not to you, no. But, if you are anything like Lance, then I feel it will only be a matter of time before you earn your place amongst us." with a little smile, she bowed her head and left.

Finding her a little strange, if not an ally he could trust, for now, he placed his Bayard down and looked at Lance. Gently running his fingers over his palm, Keith sighed.

There were no real signs of change as the hours passed by.

From time to time Lance would wake up in a panic, yelling and calling out. Keith would rush to him, wrestling him back to the bed so he wouldn't strain himself, soothing him back to sleep within a few seconds.

He never left his side, barely even willing to try and leave the room.

No Coeihn came to see them, only Tellru every now and again. Perhaps they were giving them both time to rest, but Keith wasn't sure.

At certain points throughout each day there was a knock at the door, but when Keith went to open the door, the hallway was empty and a tray of food with a note from Tellru was left behind. He was hesitant to feed Lance anything in fear or it being poisoned.

At some point, he knew Lance would have to eat at some and taste tested the food himself, waiting. When 5 hours passed and he was still alive and breathing, he fed it to Lance through awake state.

He was delirious, mumbling and whimpered incoherent sentences, all the while gripping and tugging at Keith's shoulders like a lifeline.

"Keith…" the sob from Lance's chest broke Keith's heart, drawing up some horrible pain deep within him.

"I'm here," he whispers to Lance's temple, "Go back to sleep, I'm here." Sensing that Lance was starting to grow hot, he made a grab for a cloth and got it wet. Placing it to Lance's forehead, he brushed the back of his palm to Lance's face, feeling his temperature.

He would hit a heavy fever then break from it after a short time. This process went on for hours, each one worrying Keith more and more.

At some point, Lance weak voice caught his attention, "... _Keith_?" he murmured in a hoarse voice.

Keith ran to him, almost tripping over his own feet, ignoring the pain that shot up from his wound. "Lance," he says, relieved,

"I can't…" Lance lifts a hand, then freezes, his upper lip quivering suddenly, "Oh yeah… Blind." they way he says that, having forgotten the fact and then forced to accept it, was like needles to Keith's very soul. "Where are we?"

"You're safe. We are still in the room from before," he is reaching towards the nightstand. "Here, you need to drink some water," Lifting the back of Lance's head, he brought the cup to his lips. Lance took a small sip then coughed, turning over. Keith patted his back reassuringly then they tried again. Lance scarfed it down, gasping a little. He clings to Keith's arms, pain enveloping him.

"Take it easy, that's it. You're okay- I'm here,' Keith soothes. He had never taken care of anyone like this before, his body just moving on his own. Half of the things he said didn't really register to him until after they were already said aloud. It was almost flustering how close he would hold Lance to him, cradling him like one would an infant.

"You need to eat,"

The grumble from Lance's stomach has the blue paladin forcing himself to sit up. Propping his back using pillows, Keith brings him a bowl of soup.

Lance reached out a weak hand to take the bowl but Keith ushered them away, "I'll do it," he insists. Seating on the edge of the bed, he brought the spoon to Lance's mouth.

Lance seemed to want to make a comment on the idea of Keith feeding him soup, but his hunger got the best of him and he simply accepted it.

"How are you feeling?"

"Horrible- Like I got hit by a car," He runs a hand down his side, feeling the bandages. "How long has it been?"

"We're coming up to three days in a few hours," Keith announces.

"How is your leg?"

"Wha-" Keith can't help but shake his head, smiling a little, "You would think you would be more concerned about yourself considering what you just went through,"

"You took an laser beam to the leg- that is a lot more damaging than a blade or punch," Lance huffs, puffing his cheeks out in a way Keith thinks is oddly endearing.

"You took a lot more than just some small slashes and punches Lance… I thought you were going to die," he lowers his voice. Neither of them say anything for a bit. Finding his voice, Keith asks, "Want more water?"

Yeah,"

Making him a cup, Keith held it to his lip. Lance met him half way, gripping Keith's wrist slightly to hold it steady

He sighed when cool liquid poured down his throat. When he was done, he kept his grip on Keith, saying, "Have you uh-" He cleared his throat, "Did you stay with me this whole time?" he lowered his head when he realized just how close Keith was to him. He could feel his body heat emanating into his own.

"Where would I have gone?" Keith said softly.

Lance shrugs a little, "I dunno…" his slowly slide his hand down, unintentionally brushing his fingers to Keith's. Tensing a little, the two of them sucked in a little breath. Not sure if they should pull away or not, they stayed in the position- Keith slowly slide his fingers into Lance's- holding them tightly. It wasn't like they hadn't held hand before- so what were they getting flustered about?

Quietly, not even sure if Lance would hear him, the red paladin whispers, "I'm glad you are okay."

The other gulps, "Yeah…"

Keith's heart was hammering, his brain unable to come up with any sly comment or way to break this… tension? Was this a tense moment? No, it was more of- it was just… it was different. It was something new that he couldn't describe.

"U-Um… S-So-"

"Yeah?" Lance asked a little too quickly for Keith to prepare for it.

"Want… more water?" he asked lamely, panicked.

"...Yup," Lance nodded vigorously through a red face, "Water sounds good," Taking it when Keith handed him a glass, he took delicate sips. Slowly, awkwardly, hesitantly and almost unwillingly, he to his fingers away from Keith's.

Their hands felt empty when they lowered them back to their sides. What was happening? They couldn't understand.

There was a knock on the door.

Tensing, Lance turned to face it, "Someone is here,"

"Hold on," giving Lance's shoulder a squeeze, Keith padded over to it. He first thought it would have been Tellru dropping off more food, but it was a different hour than she normally did.

Ready to punch whatever walked through if it was a threat, he opened the door and stepped back. A tall Coeihn stepped in a second later with a tray, smiling at them. "Salutations!"

Keith recognized him instantly, "You!"

"Who?' Lane squeaked in a panic from the bed.

"Champion of champions! Good to see you up!" The overly cheery Coeihn cut between them. Lance recognized the voice, but couldn't quite place it. "I apologize once again for before."

Lance gasped a little, "Dravla!" he points in the wrong direction then lowered his hand when he realized it.

Keith knew who he was- the final champion of the challenge. "What are you doing here?" he growled.

"We came to check on you," A second voice resounds in the room. It was Tellru, "Hello Lance," she greeted, "It is good to see you awake. I hope you slept well,"

"Yeah," Lance rubbed at his eyes. "What are you two doing here?"

"We thought we would bring you Lunch- sorry for coming earlier than we normally do." Tellru says,  
"I'm technically not supposed to be here," Dravla says in a hush hush kind of tone, "So don't tell on me."

"He wanted to check on your injuries." Tellru explained.

"You mean the ones you gave him?" Keith grumbled, stepping between the two, arms folded.

"Well I didn't give him all of those-" Dravla pouts a little. It was a weird sight from the normal stern faced Coeihns Keith had seen up to that point.

"You helped me," Lance says. Keith's couldn't believe that- especially not after seeing him pummel Lance the way he did.

"Helped you? He beat you up!"

"He let me win…" Lance lets the words fade off. He didn't seem to like to admit that, but he doubted he would have gotten through that fight without the assistance.

Keith was caught of guard, "He-?" he looked at Dravla, "You helped him?" The idea of having any ally in this strange world sounded too good to be true. "Why?"

"Normally I wouldn't," Dravla says honestly, "But Tellru requested, and well- I just can't say no to her," he smiled fondly in her direction. She gave him a similar look.

"So, what, are you two are in cahoots or something?" Lance questions.

"He is my equivalent," Tellru says with pride, shocking the two Paladins, "I won him over fair and square."

"Did you win me indeed- straight through the heart," Dravla sounds flirty. It was weird. "Oh what a sight- I'll never forget it."

"Can we- yeah, let's not talk about this." Keith cringes like one would when their parents were being cute to each other. "Lance should really get more rest,"

"I've been sleeping for three days, I don't need anymore rest," he says behind him.

"You were almost beat to death, you need rest," Keith tells him.

"Do not,"  
"Do too,"  
"Do not,"

"I'm not fighting you about this," Keith points a finger at him.

"Good, cause I would win. Hey Tellru, you got any communication devices around here?"

Not sure what Lance would want with those, Keith watches Tellru rub her chin, "Well, yes, of course. Do you require them?"

"Yeah, but I need a real powerful one. One that can send a signal strong enough to reach space," Lance grins from ear to ear. Keith hadn't even thought of means in which of contacting the team, but here Lance was, already looking into it. Keith felt some sort of pride in his gut.

"Space communication," Dravla whistles, "Why do you need that?"

"We need to get back to our team," Keith explains, "It is important."  
Tellru hummed, "I see. Well- I can't guarantee results immediately, but I shall try to get you a council with our King. He is the only one who can authorize off world communication."

"We would appreciate at that, Tellru." Lance stretches his arms, still sluggish, "So- what do you guys have that is fun around here?"

"Parlogging," Dravla says.  
"...I don't know what that is,"  
"We race Parlogs,"

"What is a Parlog?" Keith frowns.

"It's a- you know… You two have never seen a Parlog?"

"They aren't from this world, treasure," Tellru says to him with a little giggle. Keith wasn't sure what to say about these two. He had gotten so use to Tellru's straightforward and stern attitude towards them that this sweet and bubbly whatever from her was kind of strange. And Dravla had been very intimidating when he first saw him but now- well, he seemed kind of goofy and lovesick- Keith couldn't wrap his head around it.

"Oh yeah! Well we should show you them then!" Dravla concludes.

"Can we even leave?" Keith questions. They had just been considered prisoners less than a few days ago.

"You may walk freely- Lance is now considered a Coeihn, after all," she announced, "I can give you a tour if you would like,"

Keith wasn't sure how he thought about it. How were you suppose to act when your were a prisoner one day and a hero the next? In all honestly, he didn't want Lance walking around- especially amongst these people. Tellru and Dravla seemed like one thing, but everyone else hadn't exactly made a great impression.

"I want to go!" Lance pumped his fist.

Keith sputtered at him, "Your injuries,"

"They are fine," he waves it off. "It's cramped in here,"

They had been in here for three days- he supposed that it might- _might,_ do them some good to get out for fresh air. "Are you sure you can walk?"

"Let's see," Lance swings his legs over the side of the bed and attempts to stand. His legs are jelly, giving out on him in a second. Keith sprang into action when his knees buckled, catching him.

"Careful!" he says, hating how fragile Lance felt in his arms. If he squeezed just a little to hard he felt he might break him. Lance wasn't supposed to feel this delicate- this vulnerable. It just made him want to keep Lance away from the Coeihns and in this room a little bit more, "Maybe we should wait another day or two," he says, almost pleading with Lance.

A little flustered, Lance straightens, "I want to go out…"

"You can't walk," Keith says.

"We have movable chairs if you would prefer those," Tellru says.

"Like a wheelchair?" Lance inquires.

Tellru isn't sure, "I… suppose?"

"Wheelchair sounds better than a movable chair, we should change the name to that," Dravla insists with a grin.

These people were not helping him convince Lance not to push himself. "We don't-"

"Let's get those," Lance make little guns with his fingers at them.

"Lance," he says through gritted teeth.

Lance is already trying to walk forward to follow the two Coeihns and Keith stumbled, holding onto Lance to prevent him from falling. Forced to stay with him or let Lance fall- which he wouldn't allow, they made it down the hall.

Dravla ran off to fetch a wheelchair, returning a few minutes later with one. "Here you are,"

Lance blindly reached out till he felt the side of it and maneuvered into the seat. "Thanks," he says.

Keith couldn't stop him, so he gripped the handles of the wheel chair and pushed him.

"Okay Keith, you gotta tell me every little thing you see," Lance instructs him as they move out of the building, "Okay?" Lance smiles over his shoulder.

Keith pouts a little, trying to say no, trying to go against it, but the smile is just so pure and excited. How could Lance even want to see this planet after everything he had been through? Was this Paladin even real?

"...Fine,"

He describes the land the best he can. All in all, it looked like a city from a medieval fairy tale. Large stone based buildings all squished together with stone paths connecting them. The square was buzzing with merchants and citizens, adults and children talking without a care in the world. If Keith had seen this sight first, he would have assumed Coeihns were a very peaceful race.

Perhaps they still kind of were- just ones that gained honor through combat and had no problem getting their hands dirty if needed.

As they pushed through, several of the citizens stopped to stare at them, a few even clapping and cheering for them in a strange language. "What are they saying?" Lance asked.

"They are cheering for you- as the new Champion of five,"

"New champion of five… why do I not like the sound of that? I don't have to fight any more, do I?" he cringed.

"Not unless you want to,' Tellru smiles, "It basically just means that until someone new can defeat our five champions, you are now considered our strongest warrior,"

Keith could feel Lance's ego edging to the surface, "Strongest warrior, huh?" he grinned, a glint to his teeth.

"Don't let it get to your head- the last one let you win, remember?" Keith says. Lance puffed at him.

"Way to ruin it, Keith," he looked towards where he heard Tellru last, "So- what happens when someone else beats the five champions? Do I have to fight them to determine which one of the two of us is stronger?" he paled.

"No. Our rules are kind of strange- who ever wins against the five just becomes the strongest. If you wanted to earn the title back you could challenge him I suppose, but most are fine with the title lasting only a short time before handing it to another," Dravla says.

"Oh…" Lance bites his lower lip, "So um- how is that 4th champion? Is he- is he okay?" he asks slowly, trying to be subtly, but there is a waver in his voice, "...He isn't dead, right?"

Dravla blinks rapidly at Lance, "Oh… Oh! Of course not!" he laughs, "We Coeihns do not die that easily Blue Champion. You stabbed him in the stomach, yes, so it will take time for him to recover from it, but he simply fell unconscious when he fell over and hit his head too hard against the ground. Nothing to worry about. I actually saw him yesterday- he was very impressed with your determination and will. All of us Champions were. It really taught us not to underestimate our opponent- no matter their size or physical disabilities."

Lance slouched a little like something tight in his chest was uncoiling, "That's good…"

Unable to stop himself from staring, wondering just how long that topic had been gnawing away at Lance's mind, Keith pushed him towards something resembling stables. Doubting this world had horses, though not minding if they did, Keith peeked over the fence.

"Okie Dokie!" Dravla jumped over the fence and paused, "That is a saying you use right? Cause I was really just trying to rhyme,"

"It's fine," Keith frowns.

Dravla grinned in approval, "So! Do you boys want to see Parlogs?! Or um.. Hear some Parlogs, in Lance's case,"  
"Yes!" Lance says.

Whistling to the Coeihns by the stable, they reached for one of the gates and opened it. "Okay, so this will only take a sec-" Something heavy rammed into Dravla. Not expecting that, Keith jumped, causing the whole wheelchair to shake.

Lance gripped the armrests of it, yelling, "What just happened?!"

Some strange creature, bigger then a pig by all means, but not quite as big as a bull was rolling around with Dravla. It was violent, both grunting and ramming into each other- like two lions fighting for dominance.

Assuming this was a Parlog, Keith scanned it over. It was a dark red, sprouting four pointed horns from its skull. Its legs were smaller, hoofed at the end. It's sharp teeth and golden eyes were the only thing that made him reconsider it being a simple mix between a bull, pig and deer.

"Be calm," Tellru instructed, "This is normal. A Parlog requires respect and if you wish to ride it you must prove yourself to it. A show of strength or intelligence is what it tends to look for,"

"...Sounds like red," Lance whistled, "Hey Keith, you should go out there," he jokes.

"He can if he would like to," Tellru says.

Lance can already feel Keith curiously moving towards the fence to watch how Dravla takes it down. Leaning forward, Lance is grabbing his wrist, "Dude, no! I was joking,"  
"I use to wrestle pigs when I was a kid," Keith grins a little.

"That- so? That thing definitely doesn't sound like a pig!" Lance was trying to picture little Keith rolling around with some pigs- it felt like something he would do.

"It is bigger than one," Keith agrees, "A lot uglier too. Ooh~" he said in awe when Dravla grabbed the Parlog by two of it's 4 horns and tossed it over his shoulder. A few of the guys caring for the stables whistled and cheered at him, barking a few words and encouragement.

Hitting the ground hard, Dravla leapt up onto the back of the Parlog. It tried to buck him off only once before huffing and trotting around the stable. Dravla held on tight to the horns, smirking towards their direction. "That is how it is done!" he bellowed.

"I didn't see a thing!" Lance yelled back.

"UH…. It was awesome, I promise!" Dravla yelled back awkwardly. Moving towards their side of the fence, he patted the Parlogs head. "Okay boys, go ahead and take a gander."

It smelled, and Lance scrunched up his nose when he leaned forward. "Can I touch it?"  
"Go for it."

Sticking his hand through the fence, Keith watching with baited breath, ready to pull out his Bayard. Taking a few tries, Lance placed his hand to the Parlogs snout.""

"Hmm… feels like a snake. Weird."

"What is a snake?" Tellru asks.

"Something from my world. Keith, pet it- it is cool."

Keith does, running his hand curiously over the skin and horns. "Do you ride these things for sport?"

"Sometimes- but we use them in battle too." Dravla answers, "Perhaps when your leg is healed more you can give it a go yourself- though I wouldn't advice trying to ride one this big when you first start. They can be pretty vicious- but this guy knows me." The Parlog snorted at him, reaching around to lick his hand. "We were just wrestling a second ago."

Lance, though he could only hear the skirmish, cringed, "That is what wrestling is to you guys? I thought it was tearing you apart…"

"Nonsense, this guy is a big sweetheart," Dravla leaned forward and hugged the Parlogs back, "Aren't you? Who's a good Parlog? You are! Yes you are!" he squealed. The Parlog made a little noise and started to run, taking Dravla with them.

Rolling her eyes, Tellru turned, "Well- He'll be distracted with that for a while. There is still so much to see,"  
"Do you guys have an ocean?' lance inquired.

"Yes, we do, but it is a few miles from here. Perhaps during another day I can arrange a ride and you can go see it?"

"That would sound awesome." Lance loved the ocean. If anything was going to help cool his nerves, it was that.

"Alright- here, let me get a map for you two to have in case I'm not able to lead you around later and get called for work. Stay here," she rushed into the closet shop, leaving them alone.

Keith sighed and leaned against the back of the wheel chair, listening to Lance whistle, "So you seriously going to try Parlogging?"

"It doesn't seem too different from pig wrestling or bull riding,"

"You've done both of those?""

"Yes."

"Jeez- Keith the Bull rider. Why does that title fit you so well?"

Keith smirked smugly, "It just does-" he put a hand on Lance's shoulder and pulled back on the handles to stop him when a Coeihn ran towards them. Unlike the other Coeihns, who had kept a distance, this one was charging right towards them.

Lance went tense, "What?" he asked. Keith tugged him behind him, glaring daggers at the alien. It stopped, looking at him with wide eyes.

"It's a Coeihn,"  
"...What does it want?" Lance inquired softly.

Keith frowned, "It is just standing there- looking at us."

"Does it want something?"

"Doesn't matter-" Keith held up a threatening fist to the Coeihn. They only blinked at him… then giggled. The giggle was high pitched and Lance froze at the sound. He had heard something similar to that all throughout his life when his younger siblings would wrestle with him or his niece would come over to play.

Slowly, he lifted his hand to grip Keith's elbow. "Keith?" he says in a low voice

"Yeah?"

"Is it a child?" he purses his lips, already knowing the answer.  
"..." Now that Keith thought about it, this Coeihn was very small, "Yes?"

"Are you seriously threatening a child?" Lance rubbed his temple, frustrated for some reason.

"It is a dangerous alien!" Keith insisted. He couldn't take any chances on this planet! Size didn't matter- anything could be a threat!

"It is a child!" Lance couldn't believe this was happening again. The same thing had happened back at Arus when Keith tried to beat up an Arusian. Granted those Arusians were all adults, but there were all very small, "You are ridiculous!" he tried to push his chair forward but Keith stopped by grabbing his shoulders, still not sure if this Coeihn could be trusted or not, child or not.

"Ridiculous?" Keith growled, "I'm trying to protect you!"

"Wha-" Lance swatted his hands off his shoulders, ears red, "From a little kid? How tall are they?"

"I dunno- to my knee."  
"You are protecting me from something that is the height of your knee? Have you no shame in the means of which you threaten others?" he gasped dramatically.

As they bickered, Tellru returned with a map. Not sure what they were doing, she moved around them. Looking forward, she gasped and dropped to her knees. The child ran for her, leaping into her arms.

Tellru swung the child up, cheering, "Ruru!"

"Ruru?" Lance paused from fighting to repeat the word, finding it kind of cute, "What is a Ruru?"

"She is Ruru," Tellru explained, "This is my daughter,"

"Oh!" He elbowed Keith, trying to subtly convey the fact that Keith was threatening Tellru's beloved child, "Say hello," he grumbled.  
"...Hello Ruru," Keith said stiffly.

Lance held out a hand in the direction he hoped the child was, "Hi, Ruru."

A little hand grabbed his and shook it, "Hello."

Keith was a little startled to hear her speak English, "She knows our language?"  
"Only a few words- she is a fast learner." Tellru says proudly, "I told her of you and she was very excited to meet both of you. I hope you do not mind."

Lane was smiling, "No, not at all."

"That is good-" Tellru then switches to the Coeihn language and they can't understand her anymore, ("But young lady, why are you not with your nanny?") she frowns.

Ruru pouts a little, ("She is a meanie, I don't like her,")

("You've never liked any sitter we've gotten for you. I understand you may dislike them, Ruru, but your Father and I can't always be home and we worry when you run off without telling anyone,")

("I wanted to meet the Blue champion- who is the other one?")

("His Equivalent… kind of,") Tellru wasn't sure what Keith was to Lance at this point. ("His name is Keith,")

"Hi, Keef," Ruru turns to him.

"Keith," he corrects.

"Keef,"

"Keith," he corrects a little more insistently

Ruru frowns, "Ke...Keeeeef,"

"Dude, she is like 5 or something, just go with Keef," Lance hits him lightly on the side. He frowns and sighs.

There is a boisterous cheer behind them and Dravla is shooting over the fence.

("Do I hear my precious Baby girl?!") He sprints and slides into the picture, scooping Ruru up before she can even react, tossing her up. Snorting out a laugh half way in the air, she fell into her Father's arm.

("Hi, Papa!")

("Hello, Angel! Did you run away from the nanny again, you silly girl~") he cooed

("Don't praise her for that, Dravla,") Tellru grumbles

Dravla is still swooning, "Did you meet Keith and Lance?"  
She nods, "I lick them,"

"...Why did you lick them?" Dravla's smile slowly faded to a frown, confusion plain on his face.

"She likes them, is what she meant to say," Tellru said quickly.

"I was about to say- I don't remember her licking me," Lance snorted.

"We were actually just discussing Keith's name," Tellru announced.

"Keef,"  
Dravla was giggling, "Oh my gosh, she says your name so cute Keith,"

"It is Keith, not Keef," he grumbles.

"A child struggles to say some things correctly," Dravla insists, "Come on, you can't tell me you don't find it the slightest bit adorable,"

Lance kind of wished he were able to see what the three looked like. Ruru sounded very cute, and the more he talked with Dravla the more he wanted to see how this childish like man was considered so intimidating.

He felt Tellru looked exactly as she sounded- elegant but stern.

Titling his head a bit, his cheek brushed against something. Startled a little bit, he realized it was Keith's hand- it was still holding on tightly to his shoulder.

He hadn't even realized it was still there.

When had he gotten so use to Keith's touch that it felt natural to be there?

Wondering if it was the same for Keith, he slowly lifted his hand, placing it over Keith's. Keith didn't say a word- he didn't move or flinch. His voice didn't even waver or pause during his conversation to acknowledge Lance's actions.

Maybe that was because Lance had been reaching for him and holding his hand nonstop since they got here? Probably…

Pursing his lips, definitely _not_ enjoying the fact that he could hold Keith's hand whenever he wanted, he intertwined their fingers.

Nothing weird about this. Nope.

Just two dudes holding hands like boyfriends… that was fine, it didn't mean anything. No matter how fast his pulse was or how much his spine shivered- it meant nothing.

"I'm hungry," he announces to avoid his own thoughts- which was sad.

Tellru hums a little, "I know just the place we can go- their food is spectacular,"

"Food!" Ruru cheers. She shuffles a little to Keith, and takes his hand. Keith blinked once, then twice at her. Not sure if he should say something or pull away he ended up just standing there.

Tellru and Dravla was holding in little giggles, smiling at him, mouthing, " _Aww,"_

Feeling a little embarrassed, Keith sighs and was going to reach out his free hand to push Lance… only to find his other hand is also being held by Lance. He hadn't even noticed…

"Uh-" he almost pulled away but knew Lance often did this when he felt uncomfortable. "I can't really push-"

Lance's face turned red and he snatched his hand away and placed it on his lap, turning his head in the other direction.

"Oooh, this is too cute!" Dravla was cackling, moving around the wheelchair. "Here Keith- We'll switch!"

"Wait- what?" Keith frowned.

Dravla grabbed the handles of the wheelchair and started running. Not expecting the burst of speed, Lance yelled when they shot over the path.

"HEY!" Keith roared at him, running. Ruru ran after him. Keith was only as fast as she was with his limp, which bugged him. "Get back here! Don't just run off with him!"


	9. Time carries on

**Ugh I got so pissed. I wrote this chapter and saved it. Then when I went back and spellchecked/grammar checked, fanfiction went weird and logged me off and didn't save anything. So if you find spelling/grammar errors I'm sorry**

* * *

They had been there for another two days- that made almost a week. A whole week away from the team. It was hard not to worry and hope they were doing okay without them there to form Voltron. It wasn't as if they were helpless, considering they still had three operating lions, but there had been many challenges and battles that couldn't have been won without Voltron.

For now, all they could do was wait for Tellru to arrange a meeting with her King. She had apologized many times that she wasn't able to just yet. She explained how there were a few political tensions within the castle regarding the neighboring kingdoms and everyone there was short of time.

So two more days' passed- a lot of time spent going through the kingdom. It was an easy and quiet way to pass time.

One of those days Lance had been laying in the room shrouded in complete darkness. The doctor had come with some remedy to put on his eyes, but he had to have no contact with light for 24 hours- leaving him stuck in the room.

It wasn't like he could see anything anyway, but it was boring in there. Keith wasn't much help either. Though Lance was grateful Keith was willing to sit in pitch darkness with him.

Knowing Keith was never really the talker, Lance offered a topic, "Do you think Allura is able to pilot the lions?"

Keith must have been polishing his Bayard or something and paused, "What?"

"Well- without us there who is going to pilot Red and Blue? What if they need to form Voltron? So do you think Allura is able to pilot the lions?"

Keith takes a second to consider this, "Probably. Her life force is connected to them or whatever, right? She could probably fly both of them without many problems- plus, the Lions know that if they are in the pinch they have to push through with whatever pilot they can get." he thinks back to the black lion. "Even if she could pilot one, though, they still couldn't form Voltron with only four lions,"

"...There is Coran."

Keith actually snorts, "You think Coran can pilot the lions? Did you not see the outfit he wore the last time he tried?"

"I saw it," Lance could picture it clearly, "But they probably wouldn't have a choice if they were attacked," he paused, "Blue would probably let him be the pilot. They're pretty friendly, unlike yours,"

"Would you have trusted Coran if you saw that thing he wore?" Keith scowls.

"He was styling," Lance did some jazz hands. Hearing Keith groan he chuckled, smiling. Feeling the smile all the way through his face, he winced when his eyes stung. Regretting the smile, he turned a little.

"You okay?" Keith asks.

"Yeah… how much longer do I have to lay here?"

"Another hour,"

"Ugh- this is so boring~"

"It will help your eyes,"

"...Hopefully," sitting up, Lance reached for the glass of water he placed on the bedside table, "You don't have to sit in here with me, you know."

"I'm not in the mood to go outside,"

Accepting that, Lance talks about anything that comes to mind. Things about the kingdom, his thoughts on Tellru and Dravla, "You gotta tell me what Ruru looks like,"

"She has blue hair,"

"...You would be a horrible aid to a blind person- correction, you _are_ a horrible aid. Use details!"

"Her hair is curly- really curly. Like a sheep but not as thick. She looks like every other Coeihn, really,"

"Good thing I know what every other Coeihn looks like," Lance grumbled sarcastically.

"Gray skin- weird horn ears. I dunno!"

"You would be a horrible writer,"

"Good thing I never wanted to be one growing up," Keith scowls.

Lance turns over, propping his head up on his elbow, "So what did you want to be?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because there is nothing else to do and you are the only person from my planet that is around and would get most of what I am talking about." he pauses, "I bet you were one of those kids that wanted to be a cop or something," Lance snickers, "Or a superhero,"

"Every kid wanted to be that at some point," Keith insists. Lance can't argue honestly, recalling how he dressed as Super man for two Halloweens in a row. "Most of the time I just wanted to be like my Dad,"

Lance finds himself hesitating. He had never heard Keith mention his Father too much before, "What was he like?"

"..." Keith mumbled a bit, "He was great. Really great. He always did the right thing and fought for the little guy. Had this heavy Texan accent. Plus he was really into animals and the quiet. When he was still alive we lived on a ranch in the middle of nowhere. He loved it, but I never really had anyone around my age to play with,"

"I feel like I'm starting to see the secrets to why you as so antisocial," Lance hums, no real bite behind his words.

Keith fakes a laugh, "Very funny," he gripes, "And what about you? What did you want to be?"

"What didn't I want to be- every month was a new little career choice. Sports player, astronaut, teacher- I wanted to do it all." Lance grins, "My aunts and uncles all branched into a lot of different career choices, and so they took me with them to work a lot to show me how everything worked. I remember for an entire day I was called, _Doctor Lance,"_

"If they gave you a scalpel then everyone was doomed,"

"You joke but I was the best doctor there! Everyone I saw left with a smile and a lollipop. Plus... they never let me near the scalpels"

"Thank god for that," Keith rolls his eyes. As the last hour of Lance's treatment rolled to an end, there was a knock on the door. The Doctor and Tellru had arrived and helped Lance to remove his bandages.

"The skin is healing well," Tellru tells him, "We'll try this process for another day or two and then we'll see if there is an improvement in your sight."

Meaning they wanted Lance to try and open his eyes. He wasn't sure if he was ready to try and test that just yet but nodded anyway, "Okay… Thanks,"

Placing new bandages, the Doctor bowed his head to them and left. When he was gone, Tellru cleared her throat, "Are you two hungry?"

"Starving," Lance admits, "Why do you ask?"

"Ruru actually wanted to invite you to Lunch," she smiles, "Would you two care to join us?"

"Free Lunch? Of course we'll go," Lance says like the answer should have been obvious from the start. He had really come to like Tellru, Dravla, and Ruru- who he was especially close with. It was probably since she was a child, honestly, but he felt open to her. She reminded him of the kids within his own family.

Lifting himself a little from the bed, Lance can hear Keith roll the wheelchair towards him. In all honestly, he really didn't need it anymore. He was kind of slow in walking, but he could do it.

He only agreed because Keith insisted he uses it for a few more days, just to be safe.

Seating himself within, he sighed, "Alright, let's go,"

Rolled out of the building, Lance listened to the buzzing town. "So, where do you live Tellru?"

"In the lower districts, we'll have to take a Kever to get there,"

"A tomb?" Keith frowned.

Not sure where he got that from, she corrects, "A form of transportation,"

 _A form_ was not really an explanation to what it was, but Lance was sure he would figure it out eventually. "Where is Dravla right now?"

"Work,"

"What exactly does he do?" Lance inquired, "Besides like- fighting people."

"The top champion of the arena is only something he does out of tradition. His father was top champion as was his grandmother before him. He finds it an honor to carry out the title, though most try to steal it from him." she explained, "When there are no matches going on however, or if no one can get through the first four champions- he is the second hand man to the King,"

"Second hand?"

"There are many tasks the King must get done yet he cannot do it all himself. Dravla and him have known each other since they were children and he trusts Dravla with his life. Which everyone should- he is a very loyal ally," Lance can feel her smiling with pride and affection as she talked about her equivalent. It was sweet. "He also apologies for not being able to arrange a meeting between the three of you despite seeing the King so often. With this war going on…" she trails off.

"You mentioned something about political tension- but you didn't say anything about a war," Keith points out.

"Well, a war is something that only lasts a few years at most… This is more of a feud that has gone on for decades with our neighbor- Traveks. You are both honestly very lucky you ended up being found by us instead of them. They would not have even given you a chance to earn your freedom, most likely killing you the second they found you."

That was almost a scary thought. Lance had thought the Coeihns had been pretty brutal when they first encountered them; so learning they were actually the nicer of two groups wasn't comforting. "I guess lucky us then." he swallows.

Tellru pats his back, "Indeed. We are here. This is the Kever," Keith pulled Lance to the stop and stepped forward.

"...Is that a bug?"

Lance didn't like bugs, "A bug?"

"It is a huge bug. A big beetle,"

Lance opened and closed his mouth, "Oh god- how big is it?"

"The size of a bus,"

"Nope. Nope. No way- is that what we are riding?"

"Yes,' Tellru sounds a little amused, "Have you never been on a Kever before? Are they not around in your world?"

"We- have bugs, just not as big," Keith cringes a little.

"I'm not getting on it," Lance lifts his hands.

"It is completely safe," she assured them.

"That doesn't matter! It is a bug!"

"I struggle to see what the problem is. People are starting to stare," she informs him.

"Let them stare!"

"Lance," Keith grabs his arm, "It'll be fine- you can't even see it. Just pretend you are riding a train or something,"

"I'll know," Lance covers his ears, "I'll know it is really a bug,"

There is a pause before Keith says in a teasing voice, "Didn't think you were afraid of bugs,"

"I'm not afraid of them- They are just gross and slimy and get in your hair,"

"I don't think you have to worry about this thing getting in your hair, Lance" Keith snorts, "Do you need me to hold your hand?" he smirks

"No," Lance grumbles and hits his arms away.

Lifting himself from the chair, he could hear Tellru folding up the chair to carry it. Then she leads them on board, making sure to find a spot with enough room for Lance to feel comfortable. He didn't even understand how this was working.

"Does it- like, have a saddle? How many people are on this thing?" he demands quietly to Keith as he led him on board.

"Normal amount of people you would see on a bus," he shrugs, "There are things on it's back like benches,"

"So the benches are part of it's back?" Lance wanted to throw up, "I'm not sitting down," When the Kever shook slightly, Lance snapped a hand up to Keith's shoulder, holding himself steady. "Are we moving?"

"Yes,"  
"Okay…"

It was odd- almost like they were spinning. He could feel the Kever moving along through his feet- but his mind wasn't able to fully accept they were moving since he couldn't see it.

So he bit his lower lip and urges himself not to throw up at this mix of senses.

"Hey," Lance tenses when Keith suddenly leans closer to him, "It's okay," Keith's voice was softer than before as he whispered into his ear, understanding, and patient. Lance still couldn't get used to how easily Keith's tone could switch from condescending to caring so quickly. "Do you need to hold my hand?"

It was the same question as before, but it was honest and serious. Lance felt more flustered with this one, his heart hammering, "Um…" he swallows and nods timidly, "Yeah," reaching with only his pinky at first, it ghosted against Keith's wrist before he brought their hands together. The warmth of the Red paladin's hand was creeping from his palm and up his arm. He was almost tempted to pull away to avoid it, but the sense of comfort that also seeped from it was too good to give up.

Lance felt more flustered with this one, his heart hammering, "Um…" he swallows and nods timidly, "Yeah," reaching with only his pinky at first, it ghosted against Keith's wrist before he brought their hands together. The warmth of the Red paladin's hand was creeping from his palm and up his arm. He was almost tempted to pull away to avoid it, but the sense of comfort that also seeped from it was too good to give up.

Quick to focus on something else he asks, "So- we haven't been to this side of town. Is it nice?" he said to Tellru.

"It is where most citizen's live, so it if fairly clean," she says, "We mainly moved there for the education facilities for Ruru. It is easy to get there from work as well. You can get a full view of the lower districts over this hill," after a few seconds Keith turned to look out, his hand suddenly tightening around Lance's

Shifting a little he gave Lance's hand a tug to follow him.

Slowly inching a little to the right, he heard Keith suck in a breath. When he grows quiet, Lance tugs on him. "What?" he asks, curious to what had caught Keith's attention.

"It is a gun," Keith says in a tone of awe.

Lance wasn't sure what the big deal was, "Cool?"

"It is a huge gun, Lance. The biggest one I've ever seen- Voltron could hold it. Why is it pointing at the sky?' Keith questioned. It was seated towards the distance, standing like a mountain beyond the lower district. The very size must have taken decades to complete the construction.

"Well, it is more of a cannon- but Gun works. It is used to shoot down Galra." Tellru says simply, almost like it was a dumb question to ask. "It is our main line of defense against outer world attacks,"

"Jeez." Lance wanted to see this! It must have been epic! If it was like any of the giant cannons that the Galra had used, it must have caused some serious damage. No wonder Zarkon hadn't managed to take over this planet yet.

Lucky them, honestly.

Going about another five minutes like this, Lance was grateful when they were finally able to get off of the odd bus bug. "Here Lance," Keith was already pulling out his wheelchair.

"We still have a ways to go," Tellru agrees.

Sighing, Lance sat down. As they walked the sound of children were more prominent within this area. There were several times they had to stop as a group of them ran by playing together and giggling. It was a peaceful noise.

After at least 20 minutes Lance asked, "Are we almost there?"

"Just at the end of this road,"

Lance forced the chair to stop, saying, "I wanna walk the rest of the way,"

Keith must have expected this and helped him stand up, folding the chair quickly and throwing it over his shoulder. The pace was slow, Lance inching forward. He had taken a few small injuries to his legs, but overall he was told it was the trauma of what he had gone through that was taking the heaviest toll.

So his legs were jelly and his muscles were barely strong enough to lift a toothpick.

Hating the idea of Keith having to wheel him around, he took any chance he could get to stretch his legs. Tellru never seemed to mind, insisting she liked taking her time walking down her street.

It smelled like flowers, his feet crunching wonderfully against the ground.

"So Tellru, compared to me, how tall are you?"

"That is a strange question," She says to Lance.

"I'm just wondering,"

"I am at least an entire foot or two taller than you," she explains.

He whistles, "Are you considered tall for your people?"  
"No," she smirks.

"You guys are giants. At least I'm not the smallest one of the three of us- unlike Keith the shorty~"

"You had to throw that in there?" he grumbled.

"Yes,"

Sighing, Keith paused when Tellru pointed upward, "Here we are,"

It was a quaint little building with a full garden, each flower looking cared for and beautiful. Leading Lance up the small stone path to the front door, Tellru opened it and stepped inside. "Ruru!" she called.

The sound of stomping feet and Lance could hear Keith grunt and fall back. Not sure what just happened, Lance could hear him say, "Hey, Ruru,".  
"Ruru!" he moved a little closer, "Hey girl!"

"Hello!" she says. She must have tackled Keith to the ground. "Welcome!" She ushered them in excitedly, tugging them down a hall. She seemed to have something she wanted to show them and had them sit down on a strange kind of couch. It felt like a couch version of a waterbed and they struggled to keep their balance on it.

Gifts!"

"Gifts?" Keith questions her.

"Ruru has brought you both gifts," Tellru announced as she entered the room. "She is very excited to show you them,"

Hearing the sound of metal, Lance realized that Ruru must have been bouncing excitedly, "For you! For you!"

Handed something along the lines of clothing, Lance titled his head, "What is it?"

"A jacket," Keith announced, given his own. "Yours is blue."

"Is yours red?"

'Yes,"

"Ruru! You know us so well!" Lance praised, looking for the zipper. Finding it he quickly put it on and zipped it up over his paladin undergear. Which was very nice because he had been wearing this for a week straight.

He also hadn't taken a shower in a week…

That very thought was going against everything he stood for But he forced himself to put it aside for now. He would demand Tellru for some sort of bath later, but for now, he would just enjoy the gift he received from a sweet little Alien girl.

"Thank you, Ruru," Keith says, putting on his own. Zipping it up, he said, 'Yours is the same as ours, Ruru,"

"Oh my gosh, do we all match?" Lance got to his feet, steadying himself with a hand to Keith's shoulder, "That is adorable. What color is Ruru's?"

"Orange,"

"Match! Keith! Lance!" she cheers

"I'm keeping this forever, Ruru," he tells her. She hugged his leg, giggling.

"Did you make these?" Keith inquires.

Tellru nods, "I did, I hope they are to your liking,"

"It's so soft~" Lance hugged himself. "Tellru! How do we look?"

"Like a matching set," she smiles.

Squeezing Keith's shoulder, liking the sound of that, he says, "Dude, we're like big brothers here,"

"Brothers?"

"I use to wear matching clothes with my siblings all the time when I was little- we're like Ruru's big brothers like this!" Lance felt a warm feeling in his heart at the thought. A kind of nostalgic feeling that made him think of home.

Keith was chuckling a little, glancing down at Ruru by his knees then back at Lance, "I… I guess so,"

"Thanks' again, Ruru," he tells her. "This is the best get ever,"

"Welcome La-" she struggled to say his name, "La… La… ce. Lala," she concluded.

Lance snorted, "I'm Lala now?"

"Lala!" she patted his face when he leaned down towards her. It hurt a little with his bruises, but he knew she was trying to be affectionate, as all children did.

"You are such a sweet pea," Lance says, fondly reminded of his little niece, "Lala it is,"

"...Sweet pea?" she inquires.

'It is a nickname." Lance says.

("It is a nickname, Ruru,") Tellru says to her. "Though I don't quite know what a sweet pea is,"  
"It is a little pea that is sweet," Lance says.

"...I still don't know what that is," Tellru shakes her head.

"Ruru likes," Ruru approved of the name regardless.

After that, they enjoyed a nice long Lunch together. The taste of the food on this planet was definitely different than what Lance and Keith were used to. Not bad, just differed. Hunk would get a kick out of using the spices here.

It made Lance miss him a little bit more. "Thanks for the food, Tellru," he tells her.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," standing up to collect the dishes, she watched fondly as Ruru slide off her chair to step next to Keith. She tugged at his knee.

"Keef. Play?" she inquires sweetly. Blinking at her, he slowly and reluctantly released his hand to her and let her drag him towards the back screen door they had. When Lance was done with his own food, Tellru led him to the back to join Keith and Ruru.

She had the poor red paladin running around in wild circles, playing strange games he didn't fully understand.

At some point, she sat him down on the porch and dove into a bush. A little while later she returned, "Flowers," Ruru says, holding them out to him.

"Oh…" Keith kneeled a little, "For me?" When she nods, he takes them. Never one to dislike children or mind their actions, Keith smiled at her, "Thank you,"  
She grinned from ear to ear, a smile that matched her Fathers, and ran to collect more. She was gathering blue ones this time, most likely planning on giving them to Lance.

When she collected enough, she ran to him, "Flowers, Lala," she says again.

Lance didn't understand and slowly extended his hands. Handing them to him, he brought the flowers to his nose and smelled them, "Aww, are these for me sweet pea?"

"Yeth,"

"Yes," Tellru corrects.

"Yes,"

"I love them," Lance places the flowers on his lap and reaches out. With a few tries, he finds Ruru's head and ruffles her hair. Leaning towards him, standing on her tippy toes, Ruru patted his own head- thinking the gesture was a means of friendship. It had Lance chuckling. "Ow…" Something hit Lance's leg when Ruru stepped back.

"Sorry, sorry!" the girl exclaimed quickly, stepping back.

Rubbing his leg, Lance frowned, "Are your legs made of steel or something Ruru?" he questioned.

"It is her leg braces- she was born with weak knees," Tellru explained, "She did not mean to hit you with the side with them."

Keith had noticed them when they first meet, but he hadn't been quite sure what they were."

"It is fine," Lance assures quickly, "I didn't even realize she was wearing them. Has she always had them?"'

'Since she was born, yes. She will need to wear them all the way to her adult years." she glanced at the sky, "In fact, speaking of her braces, I need to go and pick up the new bolt for them."

"Ruru go!"

"Yeah if you need to go pick something up we can head there," Lance offers.

"If you wouldn't mind," Tellru is already grabbing a little pouch of money. Adjusting Ruru's braces, she asked if Lance required his chair.

"I can walk."

"Walk with Ruru," Ruru takes his hands. "Keef too," she takes his hand as well and they all walk side by side. Tellru is enjoying the sight- pleased that Ruru had taken a liking to them. Leading the way, they went a few blocks before going to a store.

Halfway there, all of them were surprised to run into Dravla. Ruru ran to him, leaping into his arms. He cheers and hugged her, "Hey there!"

"Dravla," Tellru hugs him, "You are home early?"

"Eh, things got a little weird… thought I'd check in on you," he smiles at Keith and Lance, "How are you two doing?"

"Good, we were just helping Tellru get an extra bolt or something for Ruru's braces," Lance tells him.

'Oh yeah," he lift's Ruru's leg, "We ended up losing a bolt somehow-" following them, Dravla stands with Keith and Lance when Tellru approaches the shop.

"It is right in here. I'll be right out." taking only a few seconds to step in, grab the bolt, and walk out, Tellru kneeled down to her daughter when she returned, "(Here, Ruru, go buy a little treat,)" she hands her daughter a coin and points to a stand across the road.

Ruru takes Keith's hand and tugs him towards the stand to show him something. Hesitantly following, he listened to her the best he could with how little of their language she knew.

Lance thought it was hilarious- Keith couldn't seem to say no to her. He really had not expected Keith to be such a kid's person. It was kind of cute.

"They are getting along well," he says aloud.

"It's cute," Dravla grins.

"Indeed," Tellru folds her arms, "Now if only she could get along with our nanny's as quickly as she does with Keith and you,"

"She needs a nanny?"

"Well, with me being the royal translator and Dravla being the top champions of the arena- as well as the King's second hand, we find ourselves being away from home a lot," she sighs, "I wish it didn't have to be that way but I haven't been able to figure anything out yet."

"So she doesn't like the babysitters basically," Lance concluded."

"Not a single one. I'm actually really surprised she gets along with you two. Maybe because you are closer to her age- I mean, not by much obviously, but all our other nanny's are in their 40's or 50's. Or she finds you interesting since you aren't Coeihns," Tellru shrugs. "I'm actually grateful to you both- she's never wanted to give others gifts before. Other children mock her for her knee braces- but she feels accepted by Keith and you."

"She is a sweet kid, don't see why I wouldn't like her."

Tellru and Dravla smile a little, "Thank you," the three of them pause when they hear Ruru cheering. With two small treats in her hands, she is having Keith take a knee in front of her. Completely unable to go against her, she shuffles around him and hops onto his back. Struggling for a moment to get on, she cheers when she does. Then she reaches around and stuffs one of the treats into Keith's mouth, sharing with him.

Furrowing his eyebrows, he wobbles for a second, struggling to munch on the treat and lift her up at the same time "Okay, up we go." standing up with Ruru on his back, he adjusted her slightly. She clapped joyfully, lifting her arms up high. "Is that good? Is it too high?"

"She is fine, Keith," Tellru chuckled,

"You could practically be her older brother," Dravla cooed

"What a change in heart," Lance teases.

Keith frowned at him, "What is that suppose to mean?"

"Well, you switch from threatening to adoring so quickly-"

"Shut up Lance," Keith grumbled.

"Didn't realize you were a kids person, Keith."

"..." Keith made a little huff. Though Lance couldn't actually see them, he was smiling brightly. It made Keith feel a little flustered, especially when he realized Tellru and Dravla were staring. "What?"

Dravla was swooning, finding the sight downright adorable, "Aww,"

Tellru looked as though she had some sort of plan, "Dravla my treasure, I believe we have officially found our new babysitter,"

"Wha- I can't- I'm not good with kids," Keith argues."My giggling daughter on your back disagrees with you," she grins.

"My giggling daughter on your back disagrees with you," she grins.

"Welp," Lance shrugs, "Guess that's it then- Hi Mr. babysitter,'

"I didn't agree to this!" Keith fumes.

"I like Keef~" Ruru hugs his back. Keith gawks at her, then at Lance.

"We do technically owe Tellru and Dravla for helping us," he shrugged innocently, smirking.

Ruru repeated, "I like Keef…" she bats large eyes at him expectantly.

Blinking a few times, he slowly grumbles over his shoulder, "...I like Ruru,"

Lance clapped a little while Ruru's parents cheered. Lance liked this family.

Deciding to stop and let Ruru play at the park on the way back to their house, Lance sat himself on the bench. It was strange how different yet oddly similar this place was to Earth.

"So what were you doing today, Dravla?" he inquired when Keith went to play with Ruru.

"Checking shipments, appointing the guards of tonight's watch- normal things." he says in a deep voice. It was the only thing Lance could ever go off of in determining who he was talking to. "I see you got your new jacket,"

"It is super soft," Lance loved the material. "I'm surprised you managed to make them this fast, Tellru,"  
"I am a fast sewer," she pauses suddenly. Her voice grows cold when she says, "And look who is finally making his rounds,"

Lance could hear several heavy footsteps, "What's that?"

"The royal guard," Dravla announces, "Looks like they are on their way to patrol,"

"After being an hour late- you would think they would take their jobs more seriously," Tellru grumbles. Her tone picks up a little when she says, "And there is Rashra, as grumpy as ever,' Tellru snickers.

"Rashra… that was the weirdo that tried to claim Keith, right?" Lance frowns."

"That's the one," she clicks her teeth, "He wasn't too happy that you won and claimed Keith instead… It was especially funny that you won with only 5 minutes to spare before sun fall," she is snorting, sounding very pleased with this fact. "He was so pissed!" she cackled.

"I've never heard you laugh,' Lance notes.

"She really doesn't like Rashra," Dravla says, "Speaking of, he is looking over here," Dravla lifted a hand to wave at him. Tellru did the same, smirking smugly.

Lance couldn't see him, but from what he's heard, Rashra must have been scowling furiously at them. So, he lifted his hand and waved to, sending him a big smile. Like hell he was ever going to let some weirdo take Keith- now way.

"So how did he become head of the royal guard?" Lance inquires.

"He won the title from the last on who had it. He may be scum, but he is strong."

"Right now, we need strong," Dravla sighs, "Even if it means him,"

"You could always win the title from him, treasure," Tellru says to Dravla, "You would be the perfect person for the job."  
"That is kind of you, but adding _Head of the royal guard_ to the list of duty's I have would definitely ensure I never have time to come home," he voices grows softer, "I want to be able to become old with my equivalent and watch my daughter grow,"

Lance listen quietly, finding something familiar about these two. They reminded him of his parents, "...You two are nice together," he says.

A little startled hear that they look at each other, then smile, "We were blessed," They say, and they mean it. Their joy felt infectious, making Lance smile. He hoped he could find something like that one day.

"Charge!" Ruru was suddenly yelling in the distance. When Lance asked what she was doing, they explained that Keith had her on his back again and was running around the play set. Dozens of kids were following after him, jumping to try and get on his back too- clinging to his arms and legs. Keith pushed through the best he could, managing to pull most of them with him.

"He gets along well with little ones," Dravla says.

"Yeah- it is kind of a new thing for me,' Lance admits, but he liked it. He liked that Keith was great with kids.

"I think it will be a good match having you watch Ruru for a few hours- so long as you don't mind," Tellru pats Lance's shoulder, "And since you will be staying for who knows how long until your team can come for you, I can ever pay you so you both have some money,"

"You don't have to do that,"

"I insist,"  
Lance can't help but agree, "Okay, thanks' Tellru."

"It is no problem- Ruru!" she leaps to her feet, ("Don't eat that!") she yelled across the playground. Ruru was seated at the bottom of the slide, a rock stuffed in her mouth, ("Ruru spit it out!") unable to hear her, or just ignoring her, Tellru sighed, "I- hold on. Ruru!" she was storming towards her.

Dravla chuckled a little, "How are your injuries, Lance?" he inquired when she was gone.

"Sore, but healing," he says, "How are yours? I didn't hurt you or anything when I shot you, right?"

"Eh, I placed an armored plate on my lower back where I told you to fire- I'm fine," he says. "You took a bigger beating than I,"

Lance nods a little, "Yeah."

"And your eyes?""They are trying some things. I've been going through this little treatment for the last couple of days. I dunno if it is working,"

"They are trying some things. I've been going through this little treatment for the last couple of days. I dunno if it is working,"

There is a long pause between them before Dravla says, "So… you were resting the last two days?"

"More or less, yeah,' he nodded.

"Ahh, then that explains it." Dravla nods knowingly.

"Explains what?" Lance inquired.

Dravla made a drawn out noise, "Nothing,"

"What?" he insists a little more, "What were you going to say?"

"Well-" he cringes, "At first I thought it hadn't happened because you were still recovering. But then you woke up and seemed healthy enough to travel around so I thought it would happen, but it didn't."

"What didn't happen?"

"Keith- he is still a pure,"

Lance choked on his own spit, "Wha- of course he is! Why wouldn't he be?"

"Because you chose him, meaning you intended to make him your equivalent," Dravla says slowly, messing with the strap on his arm. "Is that not how things work on your planet? I mean- we all tried to leave you alone as much as possible for last two days assuming you wanted that time together. Most people who become equivalents are gone for three days to celebrate their union. I myself was gone for four with Tellru," he says dreamily.

Lance lifted his hands to his ears, entire body feeling hot, "S-Stop talking!" he squeaked, "It isn't like that!"

"Ohh, yes, you were probably too injured to really get anywhere with him," Dravla realizes.

"NO! That isn't what I meant!"

"Did you get stage fright then?" he guessed, "It is okay to be nervous when you are with the one you love," he pats his shoulder in this understanding way, completely oblivious to Lance's reddening face and breaking mental state. "If you are worried about straining yourself you could always let him be on top. Let him ride-"

Too late to stop the visual image of a blushing, gasping Keith above him, Lance did the only thing he could to end the conversation, "AHHHHHHH!" he was screaming to the point that Keith came running over, demanding to know what was happening.

"What are you screaming about!? Are you hurt! What is wrong?!" Keith demanded.

"I dunno- he just started screaming," Dravla held his hands up in surrender. "Lance? Champion? Maybe his wounds are acting up? Do you need some herbs for the pain?"

"What were you two talking about, Dravla?" Tellru demanded, holding Ruru like a football under her arms and trying to pry a rock from her mouth.  
"Nothing, really! I was just talking about how it was strange that Keith was still-"

Lance kicked his legs forward, right into Dravla's knees, causing the Coeihn to cut off with a grunt, "Nothing!" he roared, "We were talking about nothing!" he managed to grab Dravla by the shoulders and shake him, "Understand?! Never repeat our conversation just now!"

"O-Okay…" he nods slowly.

Insisting everyone go back to what they were doing, Lance wanted to sit alone to calm himself down. Jeez, what was with everyone and this whole… Keith thing?! Could they not just accept that Lance didn't fee that way about Keith and was just his friend? His team mate. That is all they had ever been! They weren't even boyfriends!  
Sure they hugged a lot and hold hands and share a room, not a bed just a room, and have spent every waking second together but that… that didn't mean they were anything other than friends. And none of that happened till they got here and were kind of forced to do that, so no one could blame Lance.

….

Feeling fidgety for the rest of the day, he tensed with the Red paladin approached him.

Plopping down next to Lance, Keith leaned back and sighed. Ruru was still running about, her energy endless, "Do kids ever get tired?"

"She'll work herself out eventually," Lance assures him, "If I didn't know you and was still blind, I would think you were her big brother or something,"  
Keith doesn't say anything for a while, but when he does, there is a timid but kind of happy undertone to his voice, "You think?"

"Totally,"

Keith kind of likes that idea. He wasn't sure why, but the notion of him being a brother- a sibling to someone out there, sounded nice. He had already considered Shiro an elder brother to him for years, but he had never thought he would be considered one. To have someone looked up to him was new, but not unpleasant. "It's peaceful here," Keith says. They could hardly believe this was the same place that imprisoned him and forced him to fight. Guess most cultures were like that- they are against you until proven otherwise.

"Not a bad place to chill while we wait for the others, huh?" Having sat there for a while, Lance was starting to feel a wave of exhaustion hitting him. Perhaps it was just because he was recovering, but he got tired a lot faster lately. His eyelids already felt heavy- listening to Keith's calming voice was just making his whole body relax.

"Yeah…"

"Tell me what you see," Lance leans his head back against the bench.

"The sun is setting. Their sunsets are similar to the ones back at earth- orange and red. The purple trees look like a dark violet now."

Lance yawned and nodded, "What else?" he lulls his head to the side a bit. Today had been strangely… fun.

"That big old gun in the distance. It is the size of a mountain and really sticks out like a sore thumb," Keith whistled, "There aren't any citizens really out right now," Listing off a few more bland descriptions of what he saw he felt a chill run up his spine.

With a feeling that he was being watched, he turned to look over his shoulder. A few more buildings and trees were standing behind them, but he could see no one within them. Wondering if he had just imagined the feeling, something fell onto his shoulder.

It was Lance.

Tensing when his head hit his shoulder, Keith froze up. Not sure whether to hit him away, hold is breath, or scream, he bit his lower lip. Slowly lowering his gaze to the blue Paladin, he was about ask what he was doing when the soft sound of deep breathing hit his ears.

Lance had fallen asleep.

"Hey…" Keith shook him a little, "Don't fall asleep here," he didn't budge, his head turning a little into Keith's shoulder, his body limply leaning into him.

Holding his breath for a while, Keith slowly let it out, afraid the motion would wake the sleeping paladin. When it didn't, tilted his head a little to peek at Lance's face.

He saw bruises. It made his heart clench and twist horribly. He didn't like them- they shouldn't be there. Lance's skin should have been as it was before- perfect. He should have gotten these bruises.

Keith slowly, hesitantly, reached out for Lance with his hand. Not wishing to wake him, he allowed the tips of his fingers to graze along his cheek. His bruised and beaten cheek.

The once prefect skin was littered with wounds- and what did Keith do to stop this? He did nothing. All he could do was sit there and let this happen.

It happened because Lance tried to save him. Lance almost died for him.

The thought made his heart throb painfully. He never wanted to feel this way ever again. He never wanted Lance to have to do that for him ever again.

Hissing through his nose, he leaned forward, burying the side of his face into Lance's hair. He wasn't ever going to let this happen again. Now that he had Lance with him, he was going to make sure nothing ever hurt him again.

Granted, he wasn't sure if he could keep that promise forever, he was going to try. He was going to try for Lance- the obnoxious blue paladin that had managed to make Keith feel all these confusing and ugly emotions.

"What'cha doing?" A voice, Dravla, teased. Almost screaming like a banshee, Keith turned his head to Tellru, Dravla and Ruru, who were cooing at him from behind the bench. When did they get there?!

"Aren't you two just adorable?" Tellru mused.

"Cute cute!" Ruru clapped.

"Wha- you-!' Keith cut off his yelling to lower his voice, "What you doing back there?" he demanded.

"We saw you two being cute and wanted to know what you were saying~" Tellru wiggled her eyebrows. Ruru mimicked her, only able to lift and lower them.

Feeling a heat creeping up his neck, Keith tried to hit them away, "Shut up," he hissed, "Lance fell asleep. We're going back to let him rest."

"Alright Mr., grump. I'll walk you back," Dravla kissed Tellru's cheek then Ruru's, "I'll be back in time for you bed time story," he tells his daughter.

She grinned, hugging Keith's legs then walking back with Tellru.

"I know how to get back," Keith tells him, slowly adjusting Lance. Getting to his feet, supporting Lance's with his hands, he slowly put his arm under Lance's knees and lifted him up. He was light- lighter than he should be as Keith pressed him to his chest, letting Lance's hand rest in the crook of his neck.

Dravla waves it off, "Perhaps, but as terrible as it sounds… I can't be too trusting to my fellow Coeihns,"

"What does that mean?" Keith frowns.

"Don't worry about it too much," lifting Lance's wheel chair over his shoulder Dravla motioned for him to follow. So as not to wake Lance up, they travelled in silence all through out the Kever ride. Arriving back at their apartment- or whatever it was, Keith nodded his head.

"Thanks,"  
"No problem." when he turns, he gives Keith a long look over his shoulder, "Are you a strong warrior?"

Not sure what he was getting at, Keith nodded, "I would say so,"

He nods, "Good," when he doesn't say anything, Keith frowns.

"Why did you ask?"

"Lance just doesn't seem to be recovering at a fast rate right now- he's vulnerable both with his vision and the condition of his body. Just wanted to make sure you could look after him if something were to happen,"

Keith tightens his grip, "Are you suggesting that something might happen?" he felt suddenly very protective of this sleeping Cuban boy in his arms.

"Perhaps."

His voice is vivid, "If Coeihns were going to threaten him regardless then what was the point of him going through that stupid challenge?"

"Lance has earned his place… it is you who haven't Keith." Dravla doesn't look at him when he says this, "Many still seek your out- others doesn't trust you walking around the way you do. However, because Lance has claimed you as his equivalent, no one can mess with you," his gaze scans the area, "That does not mean people won't try to take measures into their own hands under the radar though. So I offer a suggestion- keep your guard up,"

Feeling as though he understood a little of what he meant, and having felt like someone was watching him all day, Keith nods his head. "I will see you later, Dravla."

"Okay Goodnight!" In a split second his voice goes from a deep warning to a high pitched giggle, "Have fun claiming Lance tonight!"

Keith almost tripped, scrambling desperately too prevent Lance from falling out of his arms, stirring him enough to wake him a little then sooth him back to sleep. He roared over his shoulder, unable to try and cut himself off in time so not to wake up Lance, "WHAT?!"

"Well you are technically his mate, aren't you?" he grins cheekily, "Don't be afraid to take the lead if Lance is too tired to please you efficiently! I'm sure he'll would enjoy you being the dominant one from time to time~" he was practically singing this.

Feeling like steam was pouring out of his ears from how hot his face felt Keith kicked a rock at the yelling Coeihn in front of him. Dravla ducked to avoid it, cackling.

Quick to get away, Keith ran up the steps. When he was at the top, he huffed heavily, looking down at the slumbering paladin below him.

Lance slept like the dead and hadn't stirred even a little, his snores gentle.

Almost grateful he didn't hear what just occurred, Keith adjusted him a little. Walking slowly down the hall, unknowingly trying to take as long as possible to keep this moment going, he opened the door with his foot.

Stepping in, he made his way across the room and to the bed. Moving the sheets, he placed Lance down.

Hesitating from stepping back, he ran his hand through the soft brown hair. This was a different side of Lance he couldn't get sick of.

The quiet, peaceful side to him that sleep tended to give people. He seemed younger, no sign of stress of discomfort anywhere in his expression.

Keith preferred this side to Lance- the one that didn't have to worry about anything. Though he'll never admit, he liked the boisterous and talkative Lance too.

Smiling a bit to himself, Keith curled his finger through one of Lance's bangs, admiring the softness of it.

"Keith?"

Freezing when Lance spoke, feeling caught red handed, his whispered, "W-What?"

Lance didn't say anything, his breathing soft. He was still asleep. He was sleep talking. He was talking about Keith in his sleep...

Stepping back, Keith coughed into his hand. Yup. Time to go to bed. Or try.

The better thing was to say- time to go lay down and stay up all night, thinking of Lance and feeling freaking out at this new feeling that had started to grow in his chest.

* * *

 **You can find art for this fanfic on tumblr- Smiles4Voltron**

 **there was a problem with repeating lines this chapter. I tired to fix it so hopefully it worked. If you see more let me know :)**


	10. More Comfortable with Red

\ **Day 7 /**

Keith found himself scribbling that on his own arm with some ink during Lance's medical treatment for his eyes. An entire week had passed and honestly, they didn't feel any closer to getting back to the team. He wondered if they were having any luck on their end. How would they even start to look for them?

Did they even realize they had been sucked into that portal? If not- what must they be thinking? That he and Lance just vanished out of thin air? Pidge could probably just look through the security cameras… if Galra ships had those.

"Tellru," He hears Lance say as the Doctor removes his bandages to smear a little bit more of the weird goo onto his wound.

"Yes?" she inquired.

"I really, really, need a shower," Lance pleaded with her.

"I'm not sure what a shower is," she admits.

"A bath. Making myself not smell," he is trying anything to make her understand.

"Not smell? … Oh, I see, did you mean a cleansing?"  
"…Yeah, sure." Lance nods vigorously.

"I suppose it has been a while since you were able to cleanse your form. Hmm…" she says something to the Doctor. Without tearing his gaze from Lance's wound he seems to wave her off, saying something. She smiles, "As long as you are careful and redo your bandages as soon as soon as you are out of the water, then you should be fine,"

Lance pumped his fist a little, grinning, "Yes!"

"Then I shall have the cleansing areas prepared for Keith and you," she turns.

Lance stammers, "W-Wait, both of us?"

"Yes,"

Keith doesn't say a word from where he is, his face already feeling hot. Lance and him- in a bath together?

His instant thought was of common Earth bathtubs. Lance and him would be squished together in those? Naked?!  
The thought was dizzying.

"..." Lance is forcing a little laugh, "Uh… How does that uh- like-"

"He is your pure," Tellru says

"Wellllll-" he draws the word out, his voice getting small and squeaky, not sure how to explain to her how embarrassing this way, "You see the thing is- It is just- how big is this bath?"

"Well the cleansing area, or _bath,_ as you call it, is an entire room,"

Lance lets out a big relieved sigh, "Ooh!" They could handle room-sized. Room-sized meant plenty of space to be away from the other, "Okay, so will it just be us in there?"

"To give you your privacy I will ensure that you two are the only ones there," Tellru pats his shoulder.

"Awesome, thanks," he gives her a thumbs up.

Keith honestly didn't want to go take a bath- especially with Lance in the same room as him, but he was starting to smell. So he gulped down his pride and padded down the hall with Lance, towel in hand.

When they entered the bathing area, both were amazed by the sheer size of it. It was like a bathing house, the bath looking more like a pool the longer they stared at it.

"Nice," Lance enters one of the changing rooms, relieved to peel out of both his jacket and Paladin undergear.

With a towel wrapped expertly around his waist, he stepped out of the room and into the water, "Okay Keith, you stay on your side, and I'll stay on mine,"

His grumbling echoed across the room, "You don't have to tell me twice,' That didn't mean he couldn't quickly glance from time to time- _making sure to look at nothing more than his face just in case-_ at Lance from time to time to make sure the guy didn't trip and hit his head on the concrete. For a guy who had been clinging to him for an entire week straight, Lance was pretty quick to toss him aside when it came to his skin care.

Not that it upset him or anything… He just didn't understand how the look of his skin would be that important since Keith has never cared about it either way.

He kind of enjoyed how Lance depended on and trusted him.

Yet right now there wasn't an ounce of discomfort coming from the blue paladin. Keith, who had never really liked the water for certain reasons, wouldn't be able to move if he was blind and surrounded by it. Lance had been petrified this entire time but now he was as calm and relaxed as anyone could be.

Wasn't he afraid of stumbling into a deep end or drowning with his vision how it was?

He was just humming away in the corner of the bath, scrubbing his back with this content little smile.

"You doing okay over there, Lance?" Keith kept his eyes focused on his own section of the bath, deciding that since he was here he might as well clean himself. The soap smelled weird. Not terrible, but he just couldn't place it.

It matched the food they served on this planet- it was unlike anything from Earth. Not bad, not good, just different.

"I'm peachy, Mullet," Lance sings.

"Who says _peachy_ anymore?" he questioned.

'I do, so don't judge it."

After at least 10 minutes, Keith got out, holding the towel tightly to his frame, "I'm getting out," he told Lance, "Don't stay for too much longer,"

Lance was bobbing his upper body up and down in the water, grinning like a made man, "Okay~"

Rolling his eyes at the childish paladin, Keith trotted over to his changing room. Stepping inside, he heard a knock coming from the second door in the room. Knowing that door lead out towards the hall, he approached it cautiously. Peeking it open, he saw Tellru.

"Hello, Keith." she holds something out to him, "I forgot to give you both these before you left for your bath," she handed him two sleeveless shirts and some pants that matched their jackets. "I ended up sewing an entirely new outfit for you both,"

Having never gotten something like this before, Keith wasn't sure what to say, "Oh… thank you, Tellru. You didn't have to,"

"I insist,"

Smiling at her, finding he was starting to enjoy her presence, he took the clothes, "Thanks, I'll go try them on now,"

"I'll wait out here,"  
Closing the door, Keith quickly dried off and put on the clothes. They fit him perfectly, with a lot of excellent detail going into every inch of the outfit. A little touched Tellru would do this for him, he turned to go show her.

Realizing he forgot to give Lance that new pair of pants and shirt, he turned back to go sneak it into Lance's room, "Lance, hey!" he calls into the open pool as he moves down the hall to the other changing room. His voice echoed, but there was no reply, "Tellru got us-"

As he opened the door, someone began to yell frantically, "Wait wait! Don't come in!"

Already swinging it open, Keith dropped the clothes, eyes growing wide at the sight. Lance had put on the blue jacket, but there was no undergear…

Managing to zip it up halfway before Keith came in, Lance was tugging violently at the bottom of it, desperate to cover his lower body as much as possible.

Barely able to hide his crotch from view, he was pressing himself against the wall. His face was red, mouth opened wide and stuttering incoherent things- something about him wanting Keith to leave.

But he couldn't.

He was too distracted by legs.

Long, smooth and slender legs that were pressed together by the knees. They were shaking slightly and flushed a delicious red from the heat of the bath water. Keith discovered Lance was the kind of guy who shaved after gawking at him like a pervert for a decent 30 seconds.

He also discovered that he found legs to be very attractive. He had never thought that before so maybe it wasn't legs in general... but Lance's legs alone that he found attractive?

He wasn't sure

"I said get out!" Lance yelled, chucking whatever he could in where he hoped Keith was. Having to have soap smack him in the face before getting into gear, he stumbled back and slammed the door, "S-Sorry!" he stammered.

Running back to his own room, he charged through it and into the hall. Running right into Tellru she grunted, "What is the hurry?"

"N-nothing," he squeaked. "I like the clothes- they are nice- I gave the other ones to Lance- kind of- I dropped them on the floor!" feeling dizzy from his red face, Tellru had to steady him.

"Alright then… lets just, sit down," she brings him to a bench, "The new outfit looks marvelous on you. Does it fit alright?"

Keith nods dumbly his mind filled with; _legs legs legs._ "They're great."

When she smiles, Keith feels warm. That is the kind of smile she often gives Ruru and Keith doesn't understand why that makes him happy. No one besides his Father has ever smiled at him like that.

"Hopefully they will fit Lance as they did with you. I know he was a little taller than you- but I worry I might have made the pants too long," she says.

"I'm sure they'll be fine,"

His legs were, unsurprisingly, the first thing Keith thought about when he saw Lance again, and even though he knew Lance couldn't see him, he turned to hide the red in his cheeks.

Lance hit him when he walked out, thankfully fully dressed, "Didn't know you were a pervert, mullet," he growled.

"I'm not!" he argued.

"What just happened says otherwise!"

"What just happened?" Tellru inquired, "What is a pervert?"

"A peeping tom" Lance accuses Keith.

"...I'm not sure what the translation of that is to my people," Tellru admits,

"It doesn't matter," Lance huffs, "Thank you for the new clothes,"

"I am glad you like them. I was worried I would make them too big, but they seem to fit nicely," she says in a cheerful voice, "I am glad I was able to get them to you today. Ruru will be thrilled since it is her special day~"

"Special day?" Keith wonders.

"Yup!" Tellru giggled.

Putting his anger with Keith to the side, Lance was curious, "What's with your happy mood?"

"Ruru's birthday is today,"

"It is?! Why didn't you tell me sooner!? I don't have a gift for her!" Lance gasped.

"You do not need one. She has actually requested that you simply show up to her celebration." Tellru says with warm eyes, "She has never invited anyone to her birthday celebrations before- so I am thrilled she wishes for the two of you to attend."

"We'll definitely go!" Lance grinned.

"You do realize that means you have to travel by Kever, right?" Keith inquired.

Lance's hand shot forward, grabbing Keith's hand in a death grip, "What?" he whispered weakly.

"We'll have to go on the bug again to get to the lower districts."  
'…Noooo," Lance whimpered.

"Hey, you are the one who agreed to be Ruru's babysitter and forced me to join you. We'll have to start taking the Kever a lot more."

Lance made a pitiful noise all the way to the Kever transportation station. "I don't like bugssss,"

"I know," Keith chuckles a little.

"I apologize if it is not to your liking. We are so used to them I forget that to some cultures it may seem odd," Tellru says.

"It isn't your fault…" he sniffs, "How old is Ruru turning today anyway?"

"Well, I'm not sure how our ages different since we are different races, but to my people, she is turning six,"

"Six is a big age," Lance smiles.

"Too big," Tellru sighs sadly, "She is growing up too fast."

"They say all kids do," Lance smiles. "I wonder what we should get for her," he ponders, "What do you think, Keith?"

"..."

"Keith?"

"Huh?" his hands grows hot against Lance's, "W-What?"

Lance pulls his hand away like Keith's touch burns, "Were you staring at my legs again?" he demanded.

Keith was spluttered, confirming he was doing just that, "W-What? No! No no- I was just- you um-"

Throwing his fist around a little to hit the red paladin he yelled, "You little perv! Get away! Don't touch me!" he yells. "Tellru! Tellru!" he calls for her. She pauses to give him a long stare.

"Yes, Lance?"

"Can I hold your hand instead?"

Tellru wasn't expecting the question and shifted her gaze a little, "I… suppose so?" she held it out. Lance took it after a try or two and shuffled next to her. She stared down at him with wide eyes and then turned to cover her mouth. She seemed to want to giggle at the situation but didn't want to embarrass him.

Keith, on the other hand, wasn't sure whether to be upset or find the situation funny. Lance was so small compared to Tellru that with him walking side by side with her- holding her hand, he seemed like a small child.

Like a mother and son going for a stroll.

On the other hand, though, Keith felt upset that he was no longer the one to hold Lance's hand. It was a strange feeling that he wasn't sure how to put into words.

Shaking it off, he straightened and followed after them. It didn't take long to meet up with Ruru and Dravla.

They were both waving to them. Dravla seemed to pause, peering at Lance holding Tellru's hand.

He ugly laughed very hard.

"Lala!" Ruru was running towards them as fast as she could with her leg braces.

"Hey, Dravla. Hey, Birthday girl!" Lance held his arms out and went down on a knee. The small Coeihns ran into his arms, giggling.

"Lala! I new age!" she says into his neck.

Lance chuckled, "I can already feel you growing taller," he lifts her up and spins her. She cheers and then leaps at Keith. He catches her with a smile, bending a little to let the small child on his back.

It was their routine for Keith to give a piggyback ride to Ruru lately.

"Hello, treasure," Tellru greets Dravla.

He hugs her, ("Why were you two holding hands? He looked like your own child,") Dravla giggles fondly.

Tellru rolls her eyes, ("Something about Keith staring at Lance's legs seemed to upset him so he requested to hold my hand instead. I couldn't say no,")

("That is adorable. Oh, Keith is looking this way. Act like we aren't gossiping about him,")

("All you do is gossip, treasure,") Tellru kisses his cheek and turns back to the others. "Okay Ruru, are you ready to celebrate?"

"Celery!" Ruru says

"Celebrate," they all correct her.

"Celebrass!"

"Close enough," Dravla nods.

"So, what are we doing?" Lance inquires, "Are we having this celebration at your house?"

"Yes, but there are still a few things we need to get," Tellru explains, "But one of them is on the other side of the kingdom. I wish they would build a Birthday shop closer to the Lower districts." She sighs. "We'll have to travel all the way over there."

"If you two can head back to the house with Ruru, Tellru and I can go fetch her cake," Dravla says.

"That sounds like a plan," Lance snapped his fingers. "Right Keith?" When he didn't get an answer, he repeated, "Keith?"

"They are staring at us," Keith suddenly says, his voice low.

Lance paused, realizing that Keith hadn't been paying attention to this entire conversation. He was looking at something else- something around them. "Who is staring at us?"

"The Coeihns,"

Lance couldn't see them, but now that he was focused on it- he felt eyes on him. Several different gazes looking at him. It was creepy, "Like an uh- like an awed kind of stare or any angry stare?"

"Angry stare."

"Tellru?" Lance inquired, wondering if they perhaps looked strange. Tellru looks to the crowd then sighs.

"Pay them no mind."

"They are just being nosy," Dravla insists.

"What's with them? Do they have a problem?' Keith sounds ready to bash some heads in.

"In a way," Tellru say calmly, "It is something that you both are most likely not aware of since you are of a different race."

"What does that mean? Why are they mad?" Lance frowns.

Tellru is hesitant, "Well…" she clicks her teeth together a little, "If you want me to be honest then...They question why you have not claimed your mate yet,"

Lance sputters and trips, flustered from what Tellru said and that Keith had to catch him at the same time. "What?" he demanded hoarsely

"You claimed Keith as your pure- which would mean you intend to take him as a mate." Tellru explains blankly, "I thought this was obvious,"

Keith's hands released him and he stepped back just as Lance did, "Excuse me?!" Ruru, who was still on his back, blinked at everyone in confusion. She really didn't understand anything they were talking about- which Lance was relieved about.

"N-No! That isn't what I intended when I won!" Lance insisted, "I just- I wanted to save him because he is my teammate!"

"So your mate."

"No! Not mate. _Teammate."_

Lance couldn't see her expression, but he felt nervous when she didn't speak for a while, "…Ah," she snaps her fingers as if she realized something, "I see. So, then your kind takes more than one mate!"

Lance felt his mental state crashing. "…Huh?"

"You said you were lost from your _team-_ whatever that is. So then the reason you cannot lay with Keith is because the others are not here and all wish to take him? How very daring- Truly your kind must delve deep into your pleasuring methods," she sounded almost embarrassed and Lance could just picture her fanning herself.

Dravla makes little-flustered noises, "I had no idea," he whispers

Lance was screaming, "NO! NO NO NO! T-That isn't it! That isn't what I meant! We don't-"

"Do not worry- I will respect your culture's traditions and if anyone should ask I will explain to them properly." Lance could hear her patting something, and it didn't take long for him to realize it was Keith's shoulders, "To be adored and fawned over by so many- truly your attraction must be grand. I commend you."

"Oh my god…" Keith sounded ill, "No."

"Is that not how things work in your world?" Dravla inquired.

"No!" Lance suddenly snapped, "Definitely not! That isn't how things work at all!" he yelled, stepping back and covering his face, "Stop talking about this!" he pleaded. Thank god he couldn't look at Keith right now- he wouldn't be able to take it.

"But then what is a teammate if not to be a group of mates?" he could hear Tellru saying to Keith.

"We told you, that isn't what a teammate is," he grunts angrily.

Lance stepped back a little when a few forms rushed by him. Realizing there was a crowd within the Kever transportation station he panicked, realizing he had stepped back far enough to move into the crowd. He bumped into at least two Coeihns and stumbled. His heels clicked against something sounding like metal. Not sure what it was, he shrieked when the ground moved below him. Dropping to his knees for some peace of mind that he wouldn't fall flat on his face, he yelled, when his hands touched something slimy.

Oh god, was he on a Kever?!

He recognized the sound- HE WAS! He was on a bug! "Keith?! KEITH!" he shrieked in fright, waving his hands around to get rid of the slim on them. Gross gross gross.

Keith turned at the sound, "What the hell are you doing, Lance!" he was starting to sound distant.

He would later learn that he had managed to step onto a Kever platform that had just started to leave the station. Keith had tried running after it but was quickly losing ground with the fact that his leg was not yet fully healed, Ruru was still on his back, and the Kever's gaining speed.

Lance started screaming in a panic, waving his arms around wildly like a child about to go on a rollercoaster for the first time.

"I got him!" Dravla must have run ahead and leaped up to the back of the Kever. Climbing it, he pushed through a few Coeihns and put a hand on Lance's shoulder, "Don't worry friend,"

"Dravla!" he cheered, feeling like some knight in shining armor had come to his rescue. He gripped at his elbow, holding it tight. "Thank goodness…"

Dravla smiled at him then looked back at the quickly retreating others, "Might as well make this work! We'll grab the cake! We'll meet up with you two later at the house!" Dravla called to Tellru and Keith.

Keith didn't like that idea, but with the Kever disappearing out of sight had had not choice but to trust Dravla with Lance's safety. "Fear not, Keith," Tellru pats his back, "You can trust Dravla. He is not the 5th champion or right-hand man to the King for nothing," she winks a little.

Nodding, Keith adjusted Ruru on his back, "Well… let's get ready for a party."

* * *

0-000

"You must be more careful from now on, Lance," Dravla told him, "What if you had stepped in front of the Kever instead of on it? You would have been crushed."

Feeling like he was getting a lecture from his Father, Lance sighed, "Okay. Yeah, I know. Sorry…"

"No harm was done," Dravla pats his back. "We should take this moment as a chance to get to know each other," he concludes, "Tellru told me that you were a- was it a paladin? For Voltron?" he sounds like he is just humoring Lance.

"It's true," he insists. "Voltron is real,"

"Voltron has always been a child's tale here." Dravla shrugs a little, "I grew up listening to them, but it would be quite a sight if what you said was true. I would be very happy to see it in person. How did you get separated from them?"

"Galra," Lance sighs. "Weird Magic mumbo jumbo,"

"I see. I hope you are able to get back to them soon,"

"Me too. How are uh- things with the King going? I don't really know everything that you do but I heard things have been busy,"

"Yes… Conflicts are growing worse with each day in the North and South." He pauses, "But do not worry, I'm sure they will pass with time,"

"Yeah…"

Not that he hadn't grown to trust Dravla; Lance just wasn't too confident without Keith around. He had gotten used to his constant presence that it being gone felt… empty.

When the Kever pulled to a stop they stepped out, Dravla leading Lance around by his arm. Lance felt like he was being escorted through some fancy part with how his hand draped around Dravla's bicep.

But jeez, this guy was huge!

Lance was positive he didn't even fully come up to his shoulders. Maybe his Torso at the most?

"Are you considered tall, Dravla?" he inquired hesitantly.

"Common height, really," Dravla says. "Tellru is a little small for most people- But no, I am definitely not considered the tallest. You should see the King. I come up to his elbow."

"Holy hell…" Lance made an ugly face, "I'm in a world of giants,"

Dravla chuckles a little, "Then your world must be a world of midgets,"

"Apparently," they share a laugh as they turn into the next street.

"So, you guys have cake…" Lance found that kind of funny. Despite being a whole galaxy apart, the Coeihns managed to share similar traditions with Earth.

"Do you have cake?"

"Yes, which is weird. Though I'm expecting this cake to be kind of funky or something. There is no way your cake is exactly like the cake we have," he is positive about this- but he was proven wrong. The cake smelled and tasted exactly like the kind of cakes of his world. It was insane!

Was Cake really this kind of universal thing? That is awesome!

"I love cake," Lance says as they grab Ruru's cake and head out.

"As do I." he pauses, "How about a drink?" Dravla inquires and stops them in front of a small little building buzzling with a few people, "I've always loved this cafe,"

"Sure," Lance smiles. Allowing Dravla to lead them in, they went to a seat more towards the back of the dining room.

It was almost humiliating how Lance had to jump up to the booth, his feet unable to touch the floor. They dangled in the air the whole time the waitress took their order.

He wasn't sure what anything on the menu was, so he asked Dravla to pick something for him. When the Waitress left, Dravla turned to him with a little smile.

"So why didn't you tell me about the whole _Team sharing your pure,_ thing?' he inquires.

Lance sputtered, "B-Because that isn't how it works! Tellru just misunderstood," he insists.

"So then what is holding you back from claiming Keith? He is your pure after all,"

"He- I don't own him," Lance mumbled angrily.

Dravla clears his throat, "I did not mean that to say Keith was an object- simply that he is _your_ mate. You claimed that he was to almost every Coeihn within the city that day you beat the five champions."

Feeling a blush creeping up his cheeks, Lance muttered, "That isn't how things work where I am from. You don't just- you date, you know? You don't just mate with someone by winning them or whatever. If you like someone you take them out on dates to get to know them and then if you really like them, you marry them. You know, marriage."

Dravla's long pause made him realize he confused the Coeihn, "So this _dating..._ What exactly is that?"

"You go out together. You um… go for walks and go out to eat, see movies. Dating is what you do when you don't know if you love someone and want to find out if you do,"

'And Mariage?"

"Marriage," he corrects, "If you do love the person you dated, you marry them. This means you spend the rest of your lives together. That is when you have, you know, sex,"

Dravla rubbed his chin, "Then you are married?"

"What?" he questions, "No. No way,"

"But you are no longer pure. So doesn't that mean you are married if you are unpure?"

Lance lowered his head a little, "Well- some people in my world don't wait for marriage. I didn't mean to-" he hated talking about this, finding it awkward, like he was trying to explain to his own parents, "I didn't mean to lose my virginity. I was at a party and didn't realize there was alcohol in the punch… stuff happened," When he woke up that morning, Lance had been horrified to figure out what had happened.

Dravla's voice was quiet, "... Do you regret it?"

Lance bit his lower lip, his voice soft, "Yeah."

Dravla patted his back, "I am sorry to hear that. One's first time should be considered precious and with someone you love,"

Lance nodded numbly, agreeing with that.

"But I am still confused,"

"About what?' Lance wasn't sure he wanted to hear this.

"Why have you not married Keith yet?"

Lance slammed his head on the table, "Dravla! How many times do I have to explain this? We aren't- I don't- Keith is a friend!"

Dravla didn't say anything for a while. When he did, he hummed, "I think I understand now,"'You do?" Lance didn't really believe him.

'You do?" Lance didn't really believe him.

"You are in denial," he concluded. "You do not yet realize your feelings for Keith. Poor little blue champion," he sounded so pitying as he patted Lance's head,

Lance swatted his hands away, yelling, "I give up trying to explain this to you!" why were his ears burning right now? Why was he so embarrassed?! He didn't understand!

("Here you boys go,") the waitress returned with a smile and placed the two cups in front of them. Hearing the sound, Lance reached out slowly so as to not tip it over. Barely able to find the handle, he brought it closer.

Lifting the cup towards his lips, he jumped when a large palm gripped his wrist, "Wait," Dravla commanded. Slipping the cup out of Lance's grip, he lifted it away.

Lance could hear Dravla sniffing it- then a pause- then the sound of pouring liquid, "Hey-" he frowned, realizing Dravla was pouring his drink into something else- or on the ground. "That's mine-" The sickening sizzling noise that followed might keep Lance up all night, "W-What is that?" he inquired.

"Hey-" he frowned, realizing Dravla was pouring his drink into something else- or on the ground. "That's mine-" The sickening sizzling noise that followed might keep Lance up all night, "W-What is that?" he inquired.

"...Nothing," Dravla whistled innocently.

"Dravla," he frowns.

"It's a plant,"  
"A plant? What do you mean?"

"Someone has poisoned your drink."  
"How do you know?" Lance gasped.

"Well- It is really just a guess, but considering the fact that I'm pouring it into this plant and the plant is shriveling up- yeah, it is poison. More of a slow acting acid really…" he whistled a little, as if this was just his usual Tuesday, "Had you drank this you wouldn't have noticed till it was halfway down your throat. By then it would have been stuck in your stomach."

"Jeez... Someone tried to poison me?" Lance stammered, "W-Why?"

"Good question," Dravla slammed his fist against the table and rose. The sound splintering wood made the entire cafe go quiet, ("Someone seems to have poisoned my friend's glass. Would that person care to step forward and explain why?") He asked in a cheerful, yet eerie voice. No one moved, most eyes wide with shock.

Waiting with a slowly cracking patience, Dravla tipped the last of the liquid into the plant and placed it gently on the table. "We're leaving," grabbing Lance's wrist, he tugged him towards the door. Lance barely managed to grab the cake in time, tripping after him."

"Wait-" Lance grunted as they shot down the street and around the corner, "How did you- the poison!" lance would have never guessed that was what it was, "How did you know about the poison?"

"I've had my own fair share of assassination attempts," Drava grumbles angrily, "I recognized the smell of that acid. It's nasty stuff,"

Lance didn't like the sound of that. "Did you… So then, you knew that acid? Did they put it in your drink like that?"

"Once, yes,"  
"Did you swallow it?"

"When I get a drink I always tended to savor it as long as possible and hold it in my mouth- Tellru always tells me not to. But it was lucky I did and caught the poison in time. I got out of that with my still intact and with just a slightly burned tongue. But... I haven't really tasted food quite the same since then,"

Lance felt like he was going to throw up.

Grateful that they ran straight for the Kever, he didn't mind getting on the bug this time. The bug meant they were going back to the lower district. That they were going back to Keith.

"Are you alright?' Dravla asked after 5 minutes of tense silence. Lance can't answer. Patting his head, Dravla tells him, "I'll get you to Keith,"

Those words seemed to open the tight feeling in his chest and he nods. He wanted to get to Keith.

He wanted to be near Keith.

He was being super clingy right now, wasn't he? Oh, but he didn't care. He wanted to hug him and hold his hand and just- make this terrible feeling go away. This helplessness to situations and danger.

It made him feel pathetic.

15 minutes later and they were off the Kever and making a straight B-line for the house. Bursting in, Dravla slammed the door shut, locked it, and then peeked out the curtains to the street outside. With a deep glare, he scanned the area. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, for now, he stepped back.  
"Dravla?' Tellru was slowly making her way down the hall. "You are back so soon? How did it-" she paused at the look on his face, "Did something happen?"

"Keith?" Lance was making his way down the hall, not stopping to chat. He had a mission. His thoughts were consumed with _Keith keith Kieth- h_ e heard him in the kitchen.

"Lance-?" the second his voice got close Lance threw his arms out. Snatching Keith around the shoulders, he hugged him tightly. Keith stumbled

Squeezing him with all his might, Lance sighed- relieved. "Hey…"

"Hey?" Keith asks, "You're uh- I don't usually hug people…" he sounds flustered.

"Sucks, I'm hugging you till I feel better,"

"Don't tell me you were that upset about the Kever?"  
"It wasn't the Kever," Lance whispers.

"Then what was it?" Keith's hand trails up to cup the back of Lance's head, giving it a reassuring pat. It was grounding enough to wash away the whirlwind of anxiety and fear tossing around inside of Lance's chest.

"WHAT?!" Tellru was roaring down the hall. Dravla must have told her. "Lance!" she slides into the room, gripping his shoulders and turning his face towards her. "Let me see. Did you drink any of it? Are you hurt anywhere?" she fusses, talking so fast that he isn't sure of everything she is saying. It reminds him of his Mama.

Keith is confused and looking between them for an explanation, "What?" he asked, "What happened?"

"Someone attempted to poison Lance's drink with a form of slow-acting acid," Dravla says. Keith grips the side of Lance's head and turns him towards him.

"What?" he hisses, "Don't tell me you drank any. Open your mouth. Who did it?"

"I didn't drink any…" Lance feels timid with everyone panicking over him. Hesitantly, to give them peace of mind, he opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue. Seeing no damage the two nodded numbly.

"Why would someone try to poison you?" Keith isn't stepping away from him. In fact, Lance dare say he is holding him a little tighter, his arm wrapped protectively around his waist. Lance liked the feeling of it there- like it was meant to be there.

"It could be many reasons," Dravla sighs, "As for which one for this attempt- who knows,"

"Lala?" Ruru is tugging on his pant leg.  
"Hey there, birthday girl," he forces a smile, "Sorry for the commotion. Oh but uh- we got your cake!" he pointed to her. She doesn't seem to even bat an eye at it, hugging his leg tightly.

"Lala Okay?" she asked.

"I'm okay, sweet pea."

"Do you need to leave?" Tellru asks gently, "It is alright if you wish to go back to your apartment if this was too overwhelming."

"No, it is okay. It is Ruru's birthday," he insists. "We should celebrate,"

"Are you sure? We can leave," Keith tells him.

"I'm fine. I want to celebrate her birthday. We already got the cake," he holds it up, and he means it. Yeah, it was scary- but now he was here with Keith and everyone else. The fear had long since left.

Glancing at each other, everyone nods and the party begins. There is weird music and odd party games.

Like, throw the chair at a wall.

That is what the game is called. There are a lot of chairs and whoever throws the chair at the wall the hardest wins. Keith really liked that game.

"So tell me, Lance, what do you do one the days of your birthday?" Tellru inquired, curious.

"In my world, we throw little parties like this and sing a little song," Lance says.

Ruru's clapping for him, "Sing?" She pleaded

He couldn't say no to that, "Of course, anything for you sweet pea," He cleared his throat and sang, drawing out the notes and making it as dramatic as he could, "Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday dear, Ruru~ happy birthday to you~" when Lance finished, he didn't notice that the Coeihns were staring at him in awe.

"A-again! Again!" Ruru yelled, eyes sparkling

"I was not aware you were a singer, Lance," Dravla says in amazement.

"Eh- only a little," Lance shrugs.

"Sing! Sing!" Ruru is still yelling.

"I'll sing again only if Keith joins me," Lance told her.

"What?" Keith choked on his drink.

"He is probably a really good singer," Lance insists slyly.

Like a targeting system, Ruru's gaze locked onto him. "Keef,"

"No," he frowns

"Keith," Dravla says eyes just as wide and excited. Was this man secretly 5?

"Wha- no Dravla,"

Tellru chimes in, smirking "Keith,"

"You too? I don't sing-"

They started chanting for him, trying to edge him on. Lance joined, lightly tapping the table, "Keith! Keith! Keith!

After a while- and with large puppy looks from Ruru, and Dravla- who had the most pathetic puppy dog look of them all- Keith agreed.

Lance could have died where he sat when his voice echoed in the room. It started off quiet, shy and timid, but grew as Ruru began to clap and smile. Keith was a singer, no doubt. A little rusty from lack of practice, but if he put in a little work- he would sound as beautiful as church bells.

Halfway through the song, Keith cut off. "You said you would sing too," he accused Lance when he trailed off, so caught up in the beautiful chime that was Keith's voice.

"Oh- Oh yeah! Okay, start over. Here we go," the two start again, and Lance attempts to make it cool by harmonizing with Keith as much as possible. They don't sound too bad together.

Lance wondered if he could ever convince Keith to go Karaoke singing with him someday.

By the end of the song, the little family was cheering for them.

Ruru wraps her arms around their shoulders, smiling like there was no tomorrow. Touched by the idea of having more than just her parents to celebrate such an important day like this, she smiles brightly. "Love Keef and Lala," she tells them, and despite not knowing them long, she means it. She means it as all children mean it, never needing to know a person long or know much about them to adore and care for someone.

"Ruru," Lance says fondly, "I love you too, sweet pea,"

They party for hours, going all the way until Ruru fell asleep in her chair. Tucking her in for the night they said goodnight to Tellru and Dravla and return back to their apartment.

Which is a weird thing to say. This little place they have been staying at is apparently theirs' now.

He has an apartment with Keith.

Lance never thought he would have something like that, but he did. It wasn't that bad, honestly.

Fluffing his pillow, Lance says, "You can have the bed some nights, you know," he realized he had taken the bed every night since they arrived.

"I'm fine- you use it. You are still recovering," That night, after the assassination attempt, he pushed the couch a little closer to the bed. Lance refused to let himself think that it was adorable- but the thought lingered like a fungus.

"So are you,"

"I have a single injury and some bruises. You had it a lot worse than me," Keith says in a tone that means there was no negotiating this, "You sleep in the bed,"

"Alright," Lance holds his hands up in surrender, "Fine…" rolling around a little in an attempt to find a comfortable position; he turns over to his side. Knowing Keith would be directly to his right, he wondered if he should say something. He wanted to say something.

Anything to break this awkward/angry tension that seemed to be building between them ever since the assassination attempt.

"Hey…"

"What?"

Lance purses his lips, struggling. Deciding to go for a more teasing approach, he says "So how many times did you stare at my legs today?"

"Wha- Lance!" Keith yells, startled. "I didn't stare that much!"

Lance found that interesting, "But you do admit you stared a little?"

Realizing his words, Keith clamped his mouth shut, "T- you know what I meant," he grumbled darkly. Lance could just picture him blushing, hiding his face within his blankets. "I didn't mean to walk in on you, okay? I got freaked out and just wanted to give you the pants. This is technically your fault for not locking the door."

Lance scoffed, "My fault? You ever hear of knocking before entering?"

"I don't usually live with people, so no, I don't know that rule," Keith insisted.

"That is no excuse! It is common curtsy! And it wasn't like you left as soon as you came in! You stood there!"

"I couldn't help it! Your legs were ho-ooooooooooooooooooo-!" he drew the letter out, his voice growing softer and softer with each passing second.

"...t?" Lance finished with a jump in his heart, "You think my legs are hot?"

"I didn't say that," he denied quickly.

"You totally just did!" Lance accused,

"Nope, didn't do it," Keith turned to face the other side of the couch, "Good night, Lance!"

"Keith," Lance says. He doesn't reply, "Keith. Keith. Keith Keith Keith? …. You think my legs are hot, Keith." Lance was almost tempted to pull them out from under the blankets and show them off to test the theory, but that felt a little… it was treading in waters he wasn't sure he would be able to handle. "Okay fine, pretend to be asleep. But I know the truth. You think my legs are hot," he huffed and pulled the blankets up to his chin. Feeling kind of pleased that Keith found a part of Lance attractive, he smiled into his pillow. "Good night, Keith,"

* * *

 **Hey Guys, I can't believe I forgot to mention- For those who don't know, I have a TUMBLR. And i have**

 _ **ART FOR THIS STORY-**_ **On that page. I'm Smiles4Voltron! :D Thank everyone!**

 **PS: Super IMPORTANT NOTE: Just for a heads up, the next few chapeters wont' be too thrilling. There will be moments, but overall, it is more of a cute fluff thing between Lance and Keith fora while. Then things will kick up and there will be nonstop action- I promise.**


	11. A bed to share

" _7th wheels are something that can easily be left behind,"_

For every car there are four wheels. People often kept a spare, or perhaps two. So six wheels. No one needed that seventh wheel. Most wouldn't even have a seventh wheel to begin with because it was silly to do so.

No one needed him.

Perhaps right now, because there was no other person to turn to who could pilot Blue, he was needed. But you can't fly blind.

The sound of slicing skin has him shaking.

He yells- recalling the pain all over again; Flashes of a druid- a blade- the burning pain that delved deep into his face and lingered even now.  
Seering and cutting through his eyes, enveloping them in a tight burn. He was on fire. He was burning alive.

He tried to run from it, but eye's followed him. Zarkon's eyes. They pierced his soul and knocked him down. He tried to scream for help- the team turned their backs on him.

He is coughing- lungs barely able to breath. He wakes up to the sound of the druid laughing in his head.

Sitting up, he is gasping and terrified, reaching up for his eyes because he can't see. _He can't see._ A cold sweat is sticking to his neck, each droplet sending him into a mad spiral as it slides down his back.

The adrenaline in his system makes him tremble.

He feels dizzy- choking on his own lungs at the question if he was really awake of if he was still asleep because he just _can't_ see. How could he truly define consciousness from the other when both were the same- pitch blackness?!

Before he knows what he is doing he is screaming into the silence- wet and breaking- crackling in his own throat, "Keith! _Keith!"_ he is stuck- entangled in fabric. A blanket?

It is trapping him and he screams again.

He is ready to reach out and grab his bayard but strong arms are pulling him forward into a flattened and strong chest- cradling him to a fast beating heart. "Lance! Lance, it's okay!" Keith is yelling into his ear to silence him, "It's me!"

Lance scrambles to grab ahold of him- chest heaving and breath panting. He feels like some soaking animal; shaking and clinging to Keith like he would disappear forever if he didn't. "Keith-" he presses into his shoulder, "God- Keith." he hiccups, crying out into the night.

Keith visible shakes, his voice wavering. He had never- ever- wanted Lance to break like this- desperate and scared, "I got you… I got you, Lance," he hushes him. "I won't let anything happen to you- I'm here. Don't cry," he pleads and promises, so overwhelmed to think of anything other than _Lance, Lance, Lance._

Unable to calm the trembling of his body the blue paladin forced himself up. He scrambled out of the blankets, crawling as much as he could onto Keith.

Grunting a little Keith braced himself on his hand to keep himself up straight.

"Kei-" he latched onto him,

"Shh," Keith cupped the back of his head, pulling it until Lance's head was tucked neatly under his chin. "You're safe. You're here with me- I got you. I'm not letting you go,"

Tethering himself to those words Lance lets out more of a shudder than a breath.

The tears stain his bandages and he hisses. Keith hand fumble against them, tugging them off gently. One of the number one rules was to keep the bandages from getting wet- he always broke rules.

Panicking that this little scene might snuff out any chance of seeing again he has he reaches up to brush away his tears. Keith stops him.

"Don't do that," Pulling down his wrist, his thumbs come up to his cheek. Lance let him since he was able to actually see the damage and properly brush the tears away without coming into contact with them.

Honestly- the most shocking part of this was that he was crying. He wondered if he was even able to do this anymore with his eyes. He didn't understand how eye injuries worked- so it is oddly relieving to know he is still able to.

"There-" Keith brushes his hair back, "You're okay."

Was he?

Like reading his mind, Keith insists a little deeper, "You're okay."

Lance takes a breath, then two.

Biting his quivering lip, he choked back a pitiful noise and leaned back into Keith's chest. The arms that hugged his torso were strong and warm.

When a decent hour passes, and Keith's hand never stopped running through Lance's hair, he lifted his head from the red Paladin's shoulder. He would have been embarrassed by the fact that he was straddling Keith's lap and clinging to him like an infant, but he was too grateful to have him here, "Keith?"

"Are you okay?" sensing he was now calm, Keith was quick to check on him.

"I'm okay…" he can't seem to release his grip, "I'm sorry for waking you up."

"It is okay." he pauses. Moving a little, he grabs something from the desk side table, "Here," he starts to wrap new bandages around Lance's eyes.

"Thanks…"

When Keith is done he says, "No problem," he shifts a little, as if to move away.

Lance panics and wraps his arms around his torso to hold him there, "Wait! Will you…" he choked up  
There is a pause, the silence filled with tiny breaths, 'What?" Keith inquired patiently.

"Can you stay here? Like this? Just for tonight." he pleads, "It is okay if you don't. I just-"

"I'll stay." Keith fell back to let his head rest on a pillow, Lance sprawled out across his chest, arms wrapped firmly around his waist.

Lance nuzzles into the crook of his neck, "Thanks… sorry, I woke you up," he says again.

"I told you- It's fine," Keith's hand caresses the back of his head, "What was your nightmare about?"

Lance sighs, "Just- I dunno a lot of stuff. The Druid, zarkon-" He shakes his head, "I haven't had that bad of a nightmare since I was a kid. I would always run to my parent's bed…" the more he thought of them the more he missed them. "I left without even telling everyone where I went. My parents, uncles, aunts and cousins."

"Do you miss them?"

Lance aimlessly trails his finger through Keith's mullet, "Of course I do. I miss everything about Earth,"  
'You just- you never mentioned that before now,"

"Well, I figured everyone was the same. It wasn't fair to just complain about it,"  
"I don't miss it,"  
Lance took a second to think of that, "You don't?"

"I have nothing back on Earth to miss. I suppose I would like to go back to that little shack I had in the canyons- but that is the only thing. No one is waiting for me back on Earth," he says distantly.

"Oh…" Lance never even thought about that. The idea of not missing Earth,

"I can't even imagine living with a family that big," Keith shakes his head. "How do you even handle a bathroom?"

"It is a fight for territory,"

Keith laugh, warm and open. It rumbles from his chest and into Lance's, "I never really had to worry about that growing up." He paused. Finding the topic kind of growing stoic, Lance reached up his hand. Hesitant for only a moment, he slide it along Keith's neck to grip the back of his head and upper neck and massages it gently,

Keith tensed at first, slowly relaxing into the gesture. He hummed a little, "For a while, there was my Dad- I don't remember anything about my mom, though,"

"What was your dad like- besides the accent and him being a nature lover?"

"You remembered that?"

"Of course. It wasn't like you said it that long ago. ,"

"Oh… well, he was cool," he made this fond little noise in the back of his throat that Lance found pleasing to the ear, "He was better than cool. I know every kid probably thinks their dad is cool but he truly was. He could fix any car engine and would sometimes build cars up from nothing at all. He would make hand customized cars for money- I wish I could have helped him make one for myself."

Lance smiled into Keith's chest, listening quietly to him talk. They had talked more in this past 30 minutes then they had done since meeting.

They discussed their childhoods and family- funny little moments they recalled at random. A lot of Keith's stories were of Shiro and their crazy adventures before and at Garrison. He had known Shiro since he was a kid.

Lance knew they were close, but it was nice hearing how their relationship had grown to be what it is now.

They had talked late into the night and Lance couldn't remember when he fell asleep. He feels warm… He felt home.

Neither said a word when they woke up the next morning. Pulling apart, since they were clinging to each other, they stepped away and got ready for the day in silence. They were just two dudes that snuggled during the night- nothing strange about that. They didn't really need to talk about it… right?

Ignoring it for now, neither knowing what to say if they did discuss it, they got ready for the day.

No real progress had been made with meeting with the King. It was frustrating, but both knew nothing would come from it if they stayed angry. So they distracted themselves by babysitting Ruru during the day.

At random times Tellru and Dravla would come by to check on them or have lunch, but they were both gone a lot.

Keith and Lance never minded- it was fun being with Ruru. They had tea time, went to the park a lot, had cute little lunches together- and Ruru showed them around town. They often got waves or little smiles from many of the citizens, each recognizing Lance from the Arena.

Lance was very pleased with the affection and Keith could feel his ego growing and growing.

"Don't let it go to your head," he would say

"You are just jealous- Look at this gift basket someone gave me!" he held it up. "Doesn't it look cool?"  
"Just don't eat any of the stuff inside it until we are sure it isn't poisoned."

"Obviously, but does it look cool? Like, seriously, I can't tell,"

"Yes, it looks nice. Like any normal gift basket you would see," Keith tells him.

"Bow," Ruru tries to explain there are bows in the basket and tugs a few off. Having Lance kneel next to her, she places the bows in his hair. Lance throws his head back dramatically to show them off.

Keith shakes his head- despite thinking that the bows did look nice.

Carrying at least 3 different baskets and a few others gifts by the end of the day, Lance was grinning from ear to ear. Walking hand in hand with Keith, he was swinging their hands around joyfully, humming. "I'm popular~"

"After almost being killed," Keith says sourly.

"Still sore about that?"

"Still sore?" he sputtered in disbelief, "Lance, they put us in cages. Then they separated us, tried to give me away as some prize-'

"A virgin prize,"  
Keith ignored him, "Only to have you, a blinded man, fight for their own enjoyment,"  
Lance understood where he was coming from, obviously since he went through it, but he shrugged, "Well, they are at war or whatever right now. They needed some way to prove we weren't the enemy as well as become citizens. So it is kind of weird compared to our own society, but to them, it is normal to fight to the death to achieve a goal. Things turned out well in the end...it isn't like you are super friendly to strangers either,"

"You almost go assassinated a few days ago,"

Lance hums, "Yeah- I'm sure a lot of rich and high political people have to deal with that."

"You are unbelievable," Keith says

"That is what makes me so great," Lance insists with a grin. He paused and squeezed Keith's shoulder when he heard something, "Is that music?"

Keith looks around, confirming that it was. In the middle of the square was a small group of Coeihns with strange looking instruments. The music wasn't that bad however, and many were clapping along to it.

Ruru was babbling nonsense in her native tongue, tugging on their wrists, "Go!" she insists.

"Ah- no thanks. I don't dance," Keith lifted his hands up

"I'll go," Lance was grinning.

Keith wasn't too comfortable with that, "Surrounded by a big crowd like that- it makes you easy pickings,"

"For what?"

"Assassination. Attempts on your life. People trying to _hurt_ you?" Keith lists in frustration. How could he not take any of this seriously?

"Don't be so overprotective," Lance orders him with a carefree smile, "I'll be fine,"

Keith wanted to pull out his hair as Lance stepped away from him and allowed Ruru to tug him into the center of the square with the dancing civilians. Keith followed only a little, standing as close to the dancing circle as he could- his gaze locked with Lance's form.

Despite his vision, Lance was twirling and stepping with perfect sync, his hands lowered to hold Ruru's, allowing her to lead him.

Keith hadn't realized he had started smiling.

"Keith!" Lance said within a twirl, 'Come on- come join us!"

"No," he folds his arms, taking a look around at the other Coeihns, scanning for anything suspicious.

Many of them had begun to sing- it was an odd sound, and their music was definitely different from Earth's, but it wasn't bad.

The band of Coeihns appreciated the others joining and suddenly spotted Lance. They must have recognized him from the Arena because they stopped and starting pointing at him with smiles.

Many Coeihns seemed to appreciate having Lance present and cheered towards him. He lifted a hand, waving back.

"Lala! They like!" Ruru seemed to get an idea from this and started to yell something at them. They cheered. Lance looked a little pale, "Ruru, what did you just say?"  
"Sing!" she tells him. Did she tell the crowd that Lance would sing for them?

"Whoa whoa- Ruru, I can't-"

"Sing!" she insisted. She started to cheer something along with the crowd ("Blue Champion! Blue Champion") Remembering how they had called him that before when he won the challenge, Lance laughs nervously. He wasn't going to get out of this unless he belted one, was he?

Was this karma for doing this exact same thing to Keith? Probably.

Glancing around for help, not sure where Keith was anymore, he scratched his head. "Well uh- okay?"

Keith hadn't expected Lance to agree, nor had he expected for Lance's voice to echo, silencing the entire square into awe. His voice was something that was out of this world…. Keith cringes at his own thoughts, realizing he had made an unknowing pun.

Shaking his head he focused back on Lance. He had the entire crowd enamored.

He was breathtaking.

"..." Keith coughs violently into his hand. What the hell was he just thinking?! Breathtaking? That- no- that is not how he would describe Lance. He was a loud mouthed obnoxious show off who just so happened to have really smooth skin, a great smile, nice legs- like, _really_ nice legs, and a charming smile…

Correction! A normal smile. Nothing charming about it.

Keith hit his head to shut his thoughts off.

Back to Lance- he seemed to be getting close to his song. He had been so enveloped by it, he had lost himself to the words.

When was the last time he sang in front of such a crowd? Perhaps middle school? He couldn't really recall, but he sure did miss the feeling.

He liked singing. Perhaps when he gets back to Earth he could try doing it professionally or something? Get a band going. That would be awesome! Maybe he could-

The sound of snapping ropes had Lance pause. He turned his head to the noise, listening. Snap, snap- there is was again. Then, a screeching of metal. Feeling goosebumps shoot up his spine and arms at the sound, he heard several screams.

"Lance!" He was tugged forward violently, something heavy crashing directly behind only indication he had to who was holding him was the ragged breathing in his ear, and the hair tickling the side of his face. "K-Keith?" he prayed he was correct, sucking in a few fumbling inhales, "W-what was that?!"

Keith is still backing them up, his arms wrapped snugly around Lance's waist. Stumbling with him, unable to do anything but bury his chin into Keith's shoulder, he gasped into his jacket, "Keith?" he was frantic for answers. What was that crashing just now? What was the stuff sticking to his back? It was sharp, digging a little into his skin through the jacket and undershirt.

The red paladin is already brushing the chunks away- was it glass? He wanted to tell Keith to be careful but he couldn't even seem to catch his breath, so that wasn't going to happen.

("Are you both alright?!") A few Coeihns were moving towards them but froze.

The way Keith wrapped his arms around Lance- the look he had- it made them hesitate. The pure murderous intent that seeped in from his eyes was startling enough to have them backing up- giving the two their space.

"Keith? Keith?" Lance was yelling in a panic.

"You're fine!" he suddenly yells, before he closed his eyes and his voice grew softer to calm both himself and Lance, "You're fine… I got you,"

"Lala!" Lance didn't even realize that Ruru was clinging to his legs.

"Lance! Keith!" A familiar voice was making their way through the crowd. It was Dravla. Not sure what he was doing there, he seemed to be carrying large bags as if he was in the middle of a delivery when he saw what had just happened.

"Dravla," he says, "What- what just happened?"

"I can't- are you both unharmed?" Dravla scanned them up and down, "You have very fast reflexes, Keith," he praised.

Keith grunted something, and stepped away from Lance, "There is glass on your jacket- take it off," he is unzipping it for him. Quick to finish the work, Lance slowly peeled it off and handed it to Keith.

"What just happened?" he asks for the billionth time that day- demanding for an answer this time.  
"The glass above you- we are currently going under reconstruction in a few of the buildings and some of the windows were being moved through ropes."  
"Then the ropes snapped?"

Dravla looked up towards them, frowning, "No… those kind of things never happen, especially when we are lifting glass above citizen's heads. All safety measures are taken and the glass is only moved around during later hours. That glass shouldn't have even been up there,"  
'Then this wasn't an accident," Keith concluded darkly

Dravla nods and lifts Ruru up to his arms to stop her from touching any of it, "There is glass everywhere… If Keith hadn't seen it and pulled you out of the way it would have crushed you," Dravla says to Lance

Lance shivers, "Jeez… thank you, Keith,"

Keith didn't say much but he nodded a little, "I told you it wasn't a good idea…" he had finished plucking the glass from his jacket and was placing it back on his shoulders.

Fitting his arms into it Lance lowers his head, "...Sorry,"  
'Don't apologize. It isn't your fault… I should have kept a better eye on things," Keith reaches up to brush a bit of glass out of Lance's hair. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah…"

"Good. Good," he says twice, the second one sounding more relieved. Keeping one arm around Lance he turned to Dravla. They seemed to have the same idea as their gazes locked: It was a Coeihn within the area that had cut the ropes.

"For now, we should get you back to your place. I'll take you there," Dravla says.

"What about your work?" Lance asks. "And Ruru?"

"It is fine- this delivery goes until sundown. Tellru gets off of work in 20 minutes anyway," he insists. "I would prefer to make sure you all get back home okay."

They agree to that and start heading towards a Kever.

Gripping Lance's waist tight, Keith glared at every single Coeihn as they passed. If one even so much as blinked funny, he would be pulling out his bayard.

Lance on the other hand… could only focus on the warm fingers curled around his side.

".." he pursed his lips when they tightened. He should move Keith's hand from his hip- because it is embarrassing. So he should remove it.

….

For some reason, he didn't follow his thoughts because as embarrassing as it was, he kind of liked it.  
And what does that even mean? How does he actually like this?

"Lance?"  
"H-Huh?" he stammered through a red face. "Yeah, Keith?"

"You okay? You've been kind of quiet…" Keith says gently.

Taking a moment to consider that- to realize that he was worrying Keith, Lance nodded, "Yeah." he pauses, "Um…" he lifts his hand.

Keith seemed to stare at it for a second then stopped walking. "Oh… Oh!" he tore his hand from Lance's waist- only just realizing himself that it was there- and took Lance's hand to hold it. "Uh… s-sorry."

"It's okay," Lance slowly smiled. "It's fine.." he chuckled a little at how embarrassed Keith sounded. "Everything great!" he grinned.

Keith couldn't even believe Lance was smiling right now. "How in the world do you manage to smile in a situation like this?"

"Smiles are the best thing you can offer,"

"How do you figure that?"

With a toothy grin, the blue paladin says, "My grandma used to say that a smile will either warm the hearts of those around… or piss them off. Either way, you win."

Of course, Lance would think like that- it only made sense. But… it was a kind of a funny thought.

Stepping onto the Kever, Lance had really started to get used to this mode of transportation. He was even willing to sit down in one of the odd seats- so long as Keith sat next to him.

It was strange, despite what happened- he wasn't that worried about it anymore. Sure he had been scared to death at the time, but now it was fine. Keith was here.

It was startling how comforting that thought alone was.

"You cold?" Keith asked out of nowhere.  
"I'm fine."

Keith would ask him things from time to time. If he was okay… if he was cold. If he needed something to drink or eat. Lance would never peg him as a worry wart.

Honestly, Lance was just tired. "I'm good, Keith," he leaned his head back. Allowing himself to relax a little, he startled himself when sleep attempted to strike and his head lulled to the side. In a split second, before he was going to lift his head, his temple pressed against something warm. Caught from falling over, Lance realized he was leaning against something.

He recognized the smell- he had smelled it against his pillow this morning: It was Keith.

Freezing, he was confused when he pretended to be asleep instead of just sitting up, apologizing awkwardly, and then just carrying on.

With a thundering of his heart, he stayed still and waited for Keith to push him away. To jostle him awake and tell him to get off of him- or just- do something to go against this. He didn't.

Instead, Keith's hand slowly brushed back a few of Lance's bangs. When the hand moved into his hair he curled his toes to stop himself from squirming. The sensation made his spine tingle and his heart flutter.

"If you would want, you do not need to watch Ruru tomorrow," Dravla spoke up. Keith glanced at him.

"It is alright." he tells him.

The entire ride Keith spoke to Dravla calmly, his hand moving up and down Lance's back in comforting circles. It would have been soothing enough to fall asleep to, but Lance didn't want to miss a single second of this blessed moment.

He could enjoy it thoroughly if Keith thought he was asleep.

"Well- Tellru and I have the day off tomorrow. Perhaps we could take you out of the kingdom to give you both a break from- all this?" Dravla inquired. "I know it hasn't been easy for either of you,"

"Out of the kIngdom? Where?" Keith frowned.

Dravla hummed in thought, "The forest? The outlands- oh, perhaps the beach? Tellru said Lance mentioned that once."  
Lance did- and it took everything he could not to leap up and scream, "YEAH!"

"Lance would probably love that," Keith says.

"Then we shall go there. How about that Ruru? (The Beach?)" he asks.

Ruru perks up, clapping, "(The beach!") she cheers.

Deciding that would be the best option it didn't take long for them to reach the station near Keith and Lance's apartment- house- thing, that they were staying at.

"Lance," Keith began to shake him to wake him up. Purposively waiting a few seconds before responding to make it seem like he was, in fact, waking him, he mumbled.

"Huh? What?"

"We're here. You fell asleep,"  
"...Oh," he says slowly, "Sorry," he totally nailed it.

Getting off, they walked together back to the apartment. At some point, Ruru seemed to run ahead and Keith jogged a little to catch up with her. She was showing him a cool little flower that was growing on the side of the road or something.

Lance wasn't sure and walked next to Dravla in silence. He suddenly snickers.

"You little faker,"

Lance wasn't sure what he meant, "What?"

Dravla snorted, "As equivalents, you don't have to pretend to be asleep to rest your head on his shoulder, you know," Lance slams his foot down on to Dracula's toes by pure reflex, his face turning two shades of red when he realized he had been caught.

Dravla yells and starts to hop around on one foot, clutching the injury. "I'm just saying!" he insists.

"Shut up shut up," Lance hisses,

Rushing back to their apartment- which Lance kind of liked the idea of- An Apartment that was Keith and his- they said goodnight to Ruru and Dravla, then retired to it.

Tellru had made them some dinners a few day before and they had been sharing those lately. Heating up on of them using the fireplace within the apartment, Lance and Keith shared their dinner together. Neither of them talked about Lance almost getting crushed, or that they hadn't found the team yet. There was no point stressing about it since there was nothing they could really do to change it as of now.

Keith?" Lance has asked once they started to get ready for bed.

He hummed in response from the couch, "Yeah?"

Lance licks his lips, heart threatening to fly out of his chest, "I'm kinda cold…" it was an excuse.

"Need another blanket?"

"...Well, um..I just- I've been having so many nightmares lately…." he trailed off hoping Keith would understand through his embarrassing muttering. "I actually slept great last night," he slept great with Keith next to him, is what he meant. Sharing a bed with Keith had been comforting. It was nice. "I slept well with… you here,"

"Yeah," Keith breathes out, "Me too,"

Lance nods hesitantly, "Right, so-" he clears his throat, "Would you um- do you wanna- this bed is really big and I hate that you have to sleep on the couch every night…"

"Oh," there was a pause, "Um...Hold on a minute-" Lance could hear the couch creaking on the other side of the room before soft footprints approached his bed. Already lifting the blankets, Lance felt Keith pressing his hands to the mattress. It dipped slightly with his added weight, "...it is cold," he agreed quietly

The bed was big enough that it technically was built for two people. Plus, it wasn't fair Keith has to sleep on the couch.

So lance handed him a pillow and turned his body towards him, "...Comfy?" he asked quietly.

Keith must have nodded. He couldn't see his face, but he knew Keith was laying there with his eyes open- either staring at him or the ceiling.

Finding comfort with Keith being here with him- sharing a moment of silence, Lance decided to try a few more questions. He enjoyed listening to Keith talk about his past- he enjoyed just learning things about Keith in general, honestly. "Why did you join Garrison?"

"Hmm?'

"Out of everywhere you could have gone- why did you go to Garrison?"

Keith takes a moment to ponder that, "It was the best place to get to the stars,"

"So you wants to go to space?"  
"Ever since I was little. It was all my Dad could talk about sometimes.'

"Your Dad liked space too, huh?"

"It was his passion somedays," Keith chuckles, "Shiro and him were a lot alike in that aspect."

Lance smirks a little, "Thus began the tale of Garrison's Keith Kogane- the rough and tough pilot that just couldn't do as he was told,"  
"Wasn't my fault I got kicked out," Keith insisted,

"Oh, I'm sure," Lance rolls his eyes.

"It's true- they started it. I knew how to fly, so them telling me I had a very set flight plan was ridiculous. I wasn't going to learn anything by sticking perfectly to the simulation."

"Yeah, that is true. I remember you crashing the simulation so horribly once though because you tried to use some speed boost or something to cut your time down. You engine blew up right in your face,"

Keith grumbles something. "I remember…"

"Oh you remember that, but not me. I'm hurt," Lance snorted.

There is a long pause and then Lance feels Keith's pinky finger lightly brush over his palm, "I remember you…"

"What?" he couldn't believe his ears, "You do?"

"Yeah."

"But you said you didn't remember it at all."

"I lied."

Lance made a kind of insulted noise from the back of his throat, "Why?"

"I didn't know what to say to you," Keith mumbled in frustration "Everything was crazy and I didn't expect to find Shiro there- and then you showed up out of nowhere."

"Excuses-" Lance reached forward and blindly swatted his face. He is quietly glad.

Keith grunts, "Stop hitting me,"

Lance hit him again. Keith pinched his nose. "Ow!" they swatted at each other violently for a while before exhaustion hit them like a bus. Keith had been the first to fall asleep and Lance found himself laying there… listening to him breath.

"Keith?" He asked softly to make sure he was asleep. There was no reply. After a few seconds, a gentle exhale confirmed that this Red paladin was lights out.

Lance chuckled a little. He never thought he would be sharing a bed with Keith Kogane. It was an odd thought.

When he was younger he used to share his bed with everyone. With so many people in the house, they had to squeeze together sometimes and Lance often bedbunked with his cousins or older siblings.

Sleeping next to another person was normal for Lance.

But- that probably wasn't the case for Keith, was it?

It made Lance wonder… had Keith always been alone? And not just in the fact that he didn't have parents. Besides Shiro, Lance had never known Keith to have any other friends. He was always by himself…

Perhaps that is why Lance kind of- how to say this? He... cherished the moments he could show Keith affection. It was kind of weird, but Lance liked being able to reach out and hold Keith's hand. Being able to hug him and lean into him throughout the day if something happened.

And perhaps that is why Keith never pushed it away because- well, he cherished it just as much.

Lance hoped he did at least.

Grabbing the edges of the covers, Lance pulled them up a little more, tucking Keith in. "Good night," with an odd urge surging in his cut, Lance took a chance. Sucking in a breath he kissed Keith's forehead and laid back down.

…. Covering his face with his hands, he mentally screamed.

He wanted to do it again.

What was wrong with him?


	12. Sun-kissed

**Hey guys, I've had a horrible last two days- so my writing feels a little weird. I hope you still like it though and I might just be imagining things but here we go!**

* * *

As Dravla had promised, they had gone to the beach.

Keith was almost surprised that it looked like any normal beach one would find on Earth. Golden like sand, blue water- Lance was ecstatic

"Beach! Beach beach!" he cheered as he ran past them, a pair of blue swimming trunks hugging his thin hips. "This is awesome! This-" he suddenly turned back towards them with a sour expression, "You better not be looking at my legs, Keith," he grumbled

The red paladin sputtered, "Stop instantly assuming I'm some pervert!" he yelled.

"I'm not assuming- I know you are!"

"How are you both still on this topic?' Dravla questioned. He was dressed similar to Lance and Keith- wearing nothing but swim trunks, his hair slightly pinned back to get it out of his eyes. While you wouldn't normally see them, his torso was littered in scars, each a tale of a different fight and battle.

His back was gruesome if Keith had to be honest. He wasn't sure what had caused it, but the jagged marks and burned skin were something that made his stomach churn.

He wasn't going to ask how he got them. That topic felt too heavy to bring up.

"Lance won't drop it," Keith insists.

"Keith won't stop looking at me."

'You are blind! You don't even know if I am looking at you!"  
"I can tell!" he insists. "You can't help but ogle at this perfection!" he motioned to himself.

Keith turned away to fold his arms, huffing angrily. It wasn't like there was much to see anyway… the trunks went all the way down below Lance's knees, only revealing his well-sculpted calves. Not that those weren't nice to look at.  
But that still didn't make him a pervert. So Lance was nice to looking- that didn't mean anything.

...Or maybe he was a pervert?  
He had walked in while Lance was getting dressed yeah- but that was an accident. He couldn't help but stare at Lance's legs then.

But this time was different.

What he was able to see, and quietly appreciate, was Lance's back. It was lean, framed with perfectly toned muscles that coiled through broad shoulders.

Amazingly broad shoulders.

Keith couldn't even understand how Lance managed to look so thin under his shirts sometimes and still actually look so well built.

He had never been one to appreciate a person's back before but Lance was different in many ways like that.

"Careful!" Keith called in the distance, slowly moving down a hill of sand. It took only a second later for Lance to trip and roll a good couple feet. Keith sighs

"I'm fine!" He gets to his feet, bouncing with the energy of a child.

Ruru was running up right beside him, dressed in a cute orange swimsuit and her hair tied behind her in a curly ponytail," Lala! Ocean!"

"Ocean!" They chanted and ran right in without another word. Keith wanted to stop them, or at least stop Lance, who seemed to constantly forget he was blind and just ran ahead into so many different situations.

But if Keith had learned anything, it was that Lance held no fear to the water or ocean. Even an ocean from another planet that held who knows what within it's watery embrace.

"Aren't you going to join them, Keith?" Tellru inquired as she placed down a blanket, flattening it out.

"I'm not much of a swimmer," he says, placing down a few towels and a basket.

"Me too," Tellru chuckles, "Lance seems to be enjoying himself, though. I am glad to see him so excited. You both have had a tough couple of days- Dravla!" she suddenly yelled, "No hammer throwing!"

Dravla froze up like a child caught with his hand in a cookie jar. His arms were extended up and he was lifting Lance and Ruru above his head. He had been throwing them as far as he could into the water, then they would run back, and he would do it again.

It was some odd game.

"Come on, Tellru," Lance whined.

"No." she tsked at them. They sighed and huddled back into the water, giving her pouty faces.

"Honestly," she rolls her eyes, "I don't know who is a worse influence, Dravla, or Ruru and Lance."

"Dravla is like one big child…" Keith cut himself off when he realized Tellru might take that as an insult. He normally wouldn't care if he angered another person- but he felt this odd urge to get Tellru's approval. He craved her praise and gentle smiles like he had with his own Dad when he was a child.

He didn't understand it.

Keith was very relieved when she smiled instead of getting angry, nodding, "I couldn't describe him better. I fell for that childish side, though… he makes me laugh."

Keith shuffled a little into the blanket, giving her a curious look, "Is that the only reason you choose him as your equivalent?"

"Oh heavens no," she waved him off, "He is strong. Kind. He gets serious when it is needed but is loving every other moment of the day. He is-" she pauses her gaze trailing to him. The love that burns in her eyes is astonishing to Keith, "I am not even sure how to explain it- in truth, Dravla and I are so different from each other. But that is the great thing about it. He is everything I'm not, and I'm everything he isn't. We complete each other…" she turns away, smiling into her arm, giddy. "I apologize,"

"You don't have to," Keith says. It was… nice, seeing them. Seeing two people so in love, it just made him want to smile too. It reminded him of how his Father use to talk about his Mom. It was rare to get him to discuss her, but when he did, he glowed with joy- as well as sadness that she was no longer there with them.

Keith was so young then, but even he could see how much he had loved her.

"Keith!" Lance was scrambling towards them.

"Over here," he calls when Lance struggles to locate them. Stumbling through the sand with a silly grin, he drops to his knees and holds out his hand,

"What color are they?"  
He had found shells. Beautiful purple shells that were vibrant and shined in the sun, "Purple."

"Here," Lance gives him one and another to Tellru.

"Thank you, Lance," she holds the shell with a fond smile. "I often use to collect these shells myself as a child. They would say that if you collected enough, you were blessed with a gift."

"How many did you need to find?" Lance asks. "And what kind of gift?"

"The gift could be anything," she says, "Something good, is all I knew. It could be from you receiving a delicious meal that night to becoming King of the land. The gift was supposed to be something that you would find amazing. I must remind you that it is only a legend. I believe you had to collect 100."

Lance was already on the move, tugging on Keith's arm, "Let's go!"

"It is a legend, Lance." Keith sighs as they stumble to the shore.

"We need all the luck we can get Keith!" Lance is feeling the ground. Knowing it would take him forever with his sight, and that he wasn't going to give this up anytime soon, he started to help him.

"What kind of gift do you think it'll be?" Lance inquired.

"I dunno."

"I would hope the team magically finds us."  
"That feels like a stretch."  
"Maybe…" Keith reached for Lance when he tone dropped a little,

"We'll get back to them eventually," he assures him, gripping his elbow lightly.

He snorts, "Yeah, maybe in 50 years."

"It won't be that long."

"You don't know that." Lance flicks some sand at him, smiling a little when he finds a shell. "This purple?"  
"Yeah."  
He puts it in a little bucket that Ruru leant him. "Say we were here for 50 years-"

"We aren't going to be here that long."

"But say we were. Think you can handle being my roommate for that long?" he grins cheekily. Keith makes a little noise of annoyance.

"I've already started to get use to your snoring."

"I don't snore." Lance laughs.

"Yeah you do."

"..." he frowns a little, "Do I?"

"Only a little."

"Agh," Lance curses himself. "Well, that will be something to work on."

"I don't think you can just stop yourself from snoring." Keith says honestly.

"I'll cover my nose."

"That will just make it worse. You might even suffocate," he makes sure to point that out so Lance doesn't attempt it.

"Hmm."

After a few seconds, a hand grazed Keith's. It was a delicate touch- one that Keith hadn't been expecting. It sent chills up his spine.

Lance tightened his grip, holding Keith there, "Hey."

"What?"  
Lance smiles like he wanted to say something but held it back. He shakes his head, "Nothing."

Keith gulped and focused on the shells, trying his best to ignore the warmth of Lance's fingers on his own. He held his hand for days now, why was he suddenly self-conscious of it now?

"You are acting weird today," he muttered.

Lance brushed his thumb over Keith's knuckle, "Am not."

"You are," he makes sure to stop his voice from wavering- a blush making it's way down his face.

"Hmmm. I guess," he sucks in a deep inhale of that soothing ocean air. "I'm just glad we are here. Found another shell," he mumbled and placed it in the bucket. It took them an hour- a lot shorter then Keith thought it would take only because Dravla, Tellru and Ruru came to help them.

"100!" Lance proclaims. Nothing happened. He deflates a little.

"I doubt it happens instantly," Keith tells him.

"I said it was a legend." Tellru agrees

"Don't worry, Lance!" Dravla pats his back. "Give it some time! I once collected 100 shells and you know what happened the next day?"  
'What?" he asks sadly- pouting like a kicked puppy.

"Tellru told me she was pregnant with Ruru." he gushed.

"Whoa!" Lance gasps in awe, perking up instantly, "That is the best gift ever!"

"Isn't it?" Dravla says in delight, hugging his giggling daughter.

'You never told me that," Tellru smiles at him.

"I was so happy I forgot to mention it," Dravla kisses her temple, "It was the greatest gift I could ever receive."

Lance adored this little alien family.

* * *

0000-000

"My sand castle is going to be the best," Lance declared.

"You can't even see it- It is just a big blob,"

"Best Blob in all the land," Lance nods.

Keith snorts a little, "...My blob is better,"  
"You are making a blob too?" he gasps.

"I've never made a sand castle before- I don't know how to. So I'm going with a blob,"

"Blop," Ruru slaps some sand on Lance's leg.

"Don't bury me." he chuckles. She continues to put sand on his leg till it covered.

"Welp, guess I only have one leg now. Keith, you are going to have to carry me around now."

'I can if you want." Keith says. Lance had to pause to look in his direction. He had sounded so serious about that- did he actually mean that?

"Uh…"

"I was kidding," Keith says quickly.

"Were you?" he wasn't sure he believed him.

"I was," Keith says a little more insistently. "This is why I don't make jokes- no one gets them."

"Well, you just- you sounded so serious about it dude." Lance chuckles. "Like when I said I wanted to live in the ocean cause I love it so much- you got all huffy and started talking about how impossible it was without gills and started giving me details to why it wouldn't work."

"The ocean isn't a great place to live," Keith mumbles.

"It isn't that bad,"

"I disagree," he grumbles.

"How can you not love the ocean?"  
"Simple- the kraken."  
'Excuse me?" Lance snorts, choking on his own spit, "That isn't real, Keith!"

"That is what the government wants you to believe," he says, his tone dead serious

"Oh. My. God. Are you kidding?"

"No. It is a real thing, Lance."

"Is that why you refuse to go in the water?"

"..."

Lance wanted to laugh, but the idea was so ridiculous that he couldn't wrap his mind around it. The great and mighty Keith was afraid of some folk tale? "We aren't even on earth! There are no kraken's in this ocean!"

"What is a kraken?" Tellru inquired curiously as she brought them both drinks

"A giant sea beast,"

"Like a Safilcier?" she tilted her head.

Lance and Keith paused from taking a sip of their juice, "A what?"

"A Safilcier." Dravla answers, "It guards the coast." he glances at the sky, "It should be making its way around the area soon." he stands up and stretches his arm. "Here, watch- or uh, listen." he chuckles at Lance. Bringing his fingers to his mouth, Dravla whistles.

It is loud and piercing, echoing across the water and to the distance.

Standing, not sure what he was expecting, and almost dreading the sudden silence, Keith could see something towards the horizon.

Something huge was shifting in the watery depths.

Then it rose.

"...Kraken." Keith points at it.

This mass of terror breached like a fucking whale of all things and crashed down with a heavy thump. Keith was flapping his arms, in a quiet fangirl like panic, "Kraken is real," he mumbles breathlessly

"What?" Lance couldn't see it. "What was it? I didn't see it!"

"Kraken!" Keith starts shaking him. "I knew it! I knew it was real!"

"What are you talking about?!"  
Dravla folded his arms and chuckles a little, "The Safilcier has been an ally of the royal family for years. The King often came out here as a child and visited it. He always brought me with him, and now I bring Ruru out here to visit it."

"Hello!" Ruru was calling to the distance.

"That thing still freaks me out," Tellru sighs, "But it guards us well."

Keith was still shaking Lance, his mental state broken. "Kraken. Kraken. Kraken."

"Dude, stop." Lance swatted at his hands.

"Kraken!"

"I said knock it off!" Lance tackled him after his tugged on his arm again.

"I knew it was real!"

"It isn't real! It doesn't count if it is on another planet!"

"It still exists somewhere!"

"Stop talking! I didn't see it, so it isn't real!"

"What?!" Keith gasped as they rolled down the sand hill, "You can't use that excuse! Everyone here saw it."  
"No me- so it isn't real!"

"It is real!" They ended up plummeting into the water and Keith yelled. Lance wrapped his arms around his waist to keep him submerged for a few seconds, cackling when Keith threw them upward to try and throw him off.

"Yeehaw!" he roared like he was some bull rider.

"Get off!" Keith growled. They turned and rolled and at some point, they had ended up on the shore down from the others. Lance's legs were still wrapped around Keith's torso, arms braced to his chest. "The water is your friend, Keith!"

"The water is no friend of mine! It-" his breath caught in his throat when Lance leaned in, breathing heavy and smiling.

"It is your friend!" He kicked Keith suddenly and he fell backward into the ocean. Keith flopped violently and rose, yelling.

"Lance!"

Like bells, Lance laughed. It rang over the small waves to Keith's ear- like a soothing brush of air. He was close suddenly- his nose almost brushing Keith's.

"Hey." the grin was dazzling.

Keith straightened his spine, gulping thickly, "H-Huh?" realizing he was staring at the blue paladin's lips- which were so close to his own- he bit his lower lip.  
"My bandages got wet. Did you bring some spare ones?"  
"...Yeah." he whispered weakly. "They are with Tellru,"

Lance stepped away. Either he was forcing a smile or he really just wasn't aware of how close they were just now. "Thanks." he turned and started back up the shore line, somehow managing to find his way back to the others without Keith's assistance.

Keith was grateful for the chance to catch his breath and calm the pounding of his heart.

Just now he had thought something. Something startling and foreign.

He had wanted to kiss Lance.

* * *

0000-

"So, did Dravla find anything about who is out for my head?" Lance asked as he sat with Tellru, sipping on his juice. Keith was running up the shore line with Ruru, who was chasing him with a conch shell of all things. Dravla had already been caught by her and way laying face first in the sand like some dead guy.

Lance didn't understand what kind of game it was but it didn't matter to him.

"A little- but the kingdom is a large place," Tellru pulls out some fruits and hands it to him. "There could be many reasons someone is trying to… kill you," she says slowly. "Some just do not like outsiders. Some still believe you are a spy. It could even be about Keith."

Lance didn't like the sound of that, "Someone is trying to kill me because of Keith?" he questions.

"Well, yes. It is just a theory, but perhaps someone wishes for you to be killed so that Keith is placed back on the, as you, market. If you died, Keith would most likely be placed within the pure prizes within the arena."

"No." Lance shakes his head.

"Then stay alive," she chuckles, "Again though, it is only a theory. There are too many reasons for someone to want to kill you. Some…" she pauses. "There are many things."  
"What?" Lance asked her. "What were you about to say?"

"There are those who gossip," Tellru says uncaringly, "I tend to just ignore them. It will put less stress on Keith and you,"  
"They gossiping about Keith?' Lance frowns.

"Both of you,"

"What about us?"

"You don't need to worry about it,"

"Tellru, tell me."  
After a few seconds, she finally says, "Keith is not an equivalent yet,"

"What- that again? I thought you said we wouldn't have to worry about this?" Lance demanded

"Many are understanding- but there are a few who doubt your words." Tellru sighed, "Many higher ups believe you only claimed Keith as your equivalent as a means of keeping him from the public eye. While you have earned your place, Keith has not- and if he is not seen as our equivalent many will wish for him to return as a prisoner until proven otherwise."

"No way!" Lance argued, "Keith is staying with me,"

"Exactly my thoughts, which is why- though you explained your culture to me-"

"I really didn't. You just assumed something weird-"

Tellru continued to talk as if she didn't hear him, "I must request that if you wish to keep your mate by your side-"

"Not my mate."

Tellru purses her lips, agitated, "Fine. Not your mate. But, if you wish to keep Keith by your side, you must prove to the citizens that he is truly your equivalent."

"Are you saying I have to-" Lance felt a blush creeping onto his cheeks, "That we-?"

"You do not need to lay with him to prove he is your equivalent- simply show your claim on him. Any sign of affection will do so long as Keith accepts it and denies any other attempt on him."

Lance wasn't sure he understood fully, "So like- signs of affections. What exactly do you guys consider in that department?"

"Perhaps say… to be blunt, you kiss him. If he returns the kiss and denies any other person who would try to, then it shows that while he isn't one now, he will soon be your equivalent."

Lance felt like he was choking on the air, his heart hammering, "So um… is there anything else I could do besides kissing?"

"Kissing would be the easiest way to get your point across."

"But is there any other way?"  
"Do you not want this to be settled in a timely manner?"

"...But is there any other way?"

She sighed and listed a few things, "Giving him gifts, holding him in your arms in public, calling him your equivalent does great too- normal mate things, Lance!"

"It has been proven to me countless times that a lot of your culture's traditions and my culture's things are very _VERY_ different! I don't know what normal is to you people!"

"Mating. _Holding hands_. Kissing. Loving each other. Telling each other that you love them, _always being within close proximity of each other,_ hugging; do I need to list more?"

"N-No. I got it," Lance mumbled, frowning when Tellru emphasized a few of those things.

"Good." after a pause, she pats his head, "You will do fine."

"You have more confidence in this than I do,"

"Or perhaps I just see how you two act around each other," she says smugly.

"What does that mean?"  
"Nothing~"

The rest of the day was spent in bliss. Lance was grateful for the distraction, but things fell instantly back into hell when the returned to the kingdom.

A crowd was waiting for them. An angry one.

("What is this?") Dravla demanded, stepping in front of all of them. A few Coeihns, a lot of older ones, were yelling at them. Tellru grumbled in annoyance.

"Honestly- the older generation, have they no sense of the change in times?"

"What?" Keith asked her, "What do you mean?"

"Well, it is only since the recent King came into power 30 years ago that outsiders were even given the chance to earn citizenship. Many of the older generation do not accept this new law. They are not pleased that Lance is now considered a citizen."

"He won fair and square." Keith narrowed his eyes.

"Well… kind of," Lance shrugs, recalling his fight with Dravla. Tellru quickly hushed him.

Dravla was still yelling at the crowd, demanding that they leave. Most refused to listen. A few of the guards had even been summoned to see what was happening. They approached Dravla and discussed things with him as calmly as they could.

They seemed to respect him and listened to what he had to say, but a few looked like they seemed to agree with the crowd at least a little.

Things started to escalate when the crowd saw Keith. They were pointing and shouting at him.

"What's going on?" Lance gripped Keith's wrist tightly.

"I dunno… They seem angry with me."

"Why? You got something on your face," Lance reached up to scrub his cheek. Keith leaned away.  
"No." he huffs.

"We should get you both inside," Tellru says in a tone which made Lance realize that she understood what the problem was. Wondering if it had something to do with the conversation they had earlier, Lance frowned.

The people were beginning to push, a few even demanding Keith being taken away as a spy.

When a few began to approach, Keith lifted his fists and pulled Ruru to stand behind him. They were hesitant to approach

("Lance has won his proving and has chosen Keith as his Equivalent. You all speak of rules and laws- yet here you are, going against one of the very first ones! A person's equivalent is sacred and their actions with each other may remain private! None of you have a say in when Lance shall claim his mate or his reasons for not doing so yet! He is not a Coeihn and his culture does not apply as ours does!") Dravla's yelled.

("An outsider may not follow those rules, but they are still sacred to us! For all we know, he may have just claimed that pure as his equivalent to distract us from the fact that he could be a spy!") one yelled.

("He has yet to even show signs of claiming him! He disgraces us with his actions! How do we know they are truly Equivalents?!")

"Can't you do something, Tellru?" Lance panicked, even if he couldn't understand them. He could feel their anger.

"I told you before Lance- prove to them that Keith is your equivalent and not some spy and this goes away."

"What?" Keith turned to her.

"I- you-" Lance pulled at his hair, not sure what to do. Jumping at the sound of a crash, he could hear an uproar.

The crowd was starting to get violent and Dravla had to pull out his weapon. Ruru started yelling and a few guards ran forward to hold the crowd at bay.

"Dravla!" Tellru ran forward to help him, punching a Coehin right in the face when they slashed at Dravla's arm. She was like a crazed beast when Dravla seemed to be threatened.

That was all the more frightening to Lance that Tellru and Dravla seemed to be caught up in all of this.

"Keith!?" Lance clung to him, once again lost to what was happening, but frightened all the same.

Keith was really wishing he had kept his bayard on him today. "It's okay. Stay with me, it is okay." Keith told him, backing them up. He had to grab Ruru's hand to stop her from running to her parents in this mess. This was nuts! How could they stop this?!

Well… Lance had one idea.

One crazy, insane, and unthinkable idea.

He would have to kiss Keith Kogane.

No.

No, he couldn't do it.

That was too much of a pressure to put on him! A kiss was- it was huge! He couldn't just-

He bit his lower lip at the sound of the roaring Coeihns. This wasn't just going to go away. In fact, he was positive it would just get worse.

Kiss him. Just kiss him, Lance.

It took everything he had, but he swallowed down the embarrassment and fear.

"Hey…" he placed his hands on Keith's shoulder.

"What?"

"Keith-" he swallowed, "This is going to sound odd, b-but um…" he is failing towards the end of this, all his courage shriveling up. "I was talking with Tellru and she told me how to get out of this but- you might not- uh…." His hands were moving, shaking just like the rest of his body was. He was reaching, searching along Keith's jaw and cheek.

Keith tenses when Lance locates his lips by brushing his thumb over them- Keith shivered.

Realizing he found what he was looking for, he murmurs, "There they are…" they are so soft- like cotton. Lance's heart is racing at the thought.

"...Lance?" Keith asks, startled.

"I'm going to kiss you."

Keith freezes, eyes wide. Lance feels nervous at Keith's silence, wishing with all his might that he could see his face. "If that isn't okay-" He says with a not so very confident tone, 'You need to tell me- because if I don't do this I might just piss off the Coeihns because they have their eyes on you and-" he cuts himself off to slowly lean forward. Keith jumps a little, drawing in a little breath, "I don't want any of them to try and claim you as there's or take you away or try anything weird because I…" he cuts himself off not even sure what he was just about to say. Instead, he said, "I'm going to kiss you now." He waits a few seconds for Keith to say no. To push him away or punch or do anything to go against this.

He doesn't.

Lance grabs the side of his face and pulls him in.

Their first kiss was shared with a crowd screaming surrounding them, trying to rip them to shreds if they managed to get past the barricade shielding them.

It was shared with Lance's lips being chapped and Keith's being the softest thing in the entire universe.

It was shared with Ruru gawking at them with sparkling eyes, clapping a little at the sight.

And all in all, it was more of a peck than a kiss, if you had to ask. Nut something about it was exhilarating.

When they pull away, the entire crowd had grown quiet. Lance wondered what their expressions were… what Keith's expression was. Knowing, and hating that he would never know, he could hear the crowd beginning to disperse, going back to their lives as if nothing had ever happened.

This place was so weird.

They just gave up just like that? All that fuss and they just wanted Lance to give Keith a little peck? He knew Equivalents or whatever were important to this people but come on.

"Honestly...Was that so hard?' Tellru teases but she sounds breathless from the fight. She wanted to cackle at the sight of these strang off-worlders. That kiss had to be the most pathetic thing she had ever witnessed, but they were both so flustered from it. Keith was still standing there, caught in some trance, face flushed and mouth hanging open.

"Shut up," Lance grumbled at her, lowering his hands from Keith's burning face. "You wouldn't understand…"

"I don't." she agrees, 'But at least the conflict is over, for now. Are you both alright?"

'Yeah."

Keith takes a lot longer to reply, "...Y-Yeah."

"You two aren't hurt, right?" Lance asks, hating to think that they had gotten injured trying to protect them.

"They were a bunch of old fools- we are fine," Dravla says confidently. "Didn't get a scratch on me. And my love!" he turns to Tellru like a love sick puppy, "They way you swooped in and knocked them a new one- you stole my breath away!"

"Dravla," Tellru chuckles, kissing his cheek. "I would slay a thousand Radmarsts for you,"

"Yuck," Ruru sticks her tongue at them.

"Double yuck and I don't even know what a Radmarsts is," Lance says, feeling like he was listening to his own parents flirt with each other.

"It is a great best from the northern hills~" Dravla waves his arms around, "But that aside, I believe we have all had enough excitement for one day."

"I'm exhausted," Lance admits.

"Then we shall get you both to bed," Dravla ruffles his hair. "Come-" he pauses, "Keith? Are you alright?"

Keith doesn't reply instantly and eventually mutters something about being okay. Lance can't bare to look at him…

Wait, he can't see.

Oh yeah.

So he shouldn't be worried about looking at him.

He should just be worried about being alone with him- which is what happened as soon as they got into their apartment and the others left.

He could still hear Dravla rumbling voice down the hall, "What a beautiful kiss!"

"I thought it was kind of small," Tellru says.

"Kiss kiss!" Ruru says. Lance forces himself to drown them out, busying himself with making them a quick dinner.

Or at least getting out the food so Keith could make it for him.

Needless to say, the dinner was the most painfully slow and awkward thing he had ever been too. Neither of them spoke and just sat there.

The air was just too tense between them. If Lance knew it would be this way, he would have never kissed him in the first place. He wanted things to go back to normal with Keith- to talk and just be goofy with him. He felt as though he was losing that from what happened. He hates it.

"...Keith," he speaks up.

Keith sat upright, his voice almost robotic to hide any emotion in his tone, "Yes?"

"I- listen, I'm sorry. You don't have to think of that kiss as anything," he says desperately, "I just didn't want the Coeihns messing with you. You heard Tellru- this culture is kind of weird."  
'Oh…" Lance wonders if he heard something like disappointment in Keith's tone, "No. No, no- it is fine. I understand. It was- it was just a kiss Lance."

"Yeah." he nods, "Just a kiss."

"It didn't mean anything."

"Nothing," he agrees.

Keith clears his throat, awkward and forced, "Besides it… It didn't really live up to what everyone always said about it." He was lying through his teeth, and he hoped Lance wouldn't notice. He was just trying to just lighten the awkward tension, but Lance didn't understand.

"What are you talking about?"

"The kiss… It wasn't anything that special. Kind of dry."

That should have meant nothing to him. But it did. Lance openly gasped, insulted, "Rude!"

"Well- what did you expect me to say?"

"Uh- that is was great, obviously!"

Keith was fuming, "What? Why would I say that?"

"Cause I'm a fantastic kisser,"

"Ooh-" Keith makes a noise of disgust, "Yeah right. Not from where I'm standing."

"You picking a fight?!" he rises to his feet.

"Not with a blind man!"

"Blind nothing, I can still kick your butt! You just can't handle these awesome lips-"

"Awesome is the last thing I would ever call them," Keith seeths.

"Like you were any better! You didn't even try! I at least put an effort into it," Lance says. It was true- Keith did just kind of stand there during the whole exchange.

"I- so what?! I'm not used to it! What is your excuse, you've apparently had plenty of practice unlike me!"

"Being a virgin doesn't excuse poor kissing Keith!"

"Don't call me that!"

"Virgin! Virgin!" he taunts.  
"Lance!" Keith is stalking towards him, ready to throw down. Lance manages to find his way around the table to put some distance between them. Running aimlessly around for a while, knowing the layout of this room like the back of his hand, Lance avoided Keith like a pro.

At some point, Keith seemed to give up, "Let's just drop this okay?" he huffed.

"Fine… Mr. Virgin."

"You are pushing your luck," Keith says in a dark tone. Lance stuck his tongue out at him. Stepping back, the two went to separate sides of the room to cool off. Sitting away from the other for at least 10 minutes, Lance found himself biting his lip.

He can't' seem to get it out of his head though and keeps asking questions, "What did you mean, anyway?"

"What?' Keith grumbled.

"You said the kiss didn't live up to what others said. Like- did people talk about my kissing or something back at Garrison?" he had been with a few other students, but he had no idea anyone talked that deeply about how good of a kisser he was.

"No- About when you get kissed in general. It wasn't that big of a deal."

"Kissing is great." Lance says."You seriously telling me you didn't like it at all?" He tried his best to hide the disappointment in his tone.

Keith paused for a second too long,

"I-it was fine," he says despite having thoroughly enjoyed it. His pride just didn't seem to want to let him admit that, "I just...Don't understand why people make such a big deal for the first one."

"…"What?" Lance slowly gasps, dramatically lifting a hand to his face, "Say that again,"

"Didn't seem that great to me."  
"After that."  
'...Don't understand why people make such a big deal for the first one?"

"Was that your first kiss?"

"Yeah," Keith says slowly. Lance was downright speechless.

"I was your first kiss?!" he couldn't believe it. Had Keith never kissed anyone before? The guy was the top pilot at Garrison and he shouldn't even have to mention his looks! Everyone fawned over him like crazy! "How!? Didn't you date?!"

"No."

"WHY!?" Lance couldn't wrap his mind around it. Just how _innocent_ was this paladin?! Was he even real?

Keith sounded a little off put, "I dunno- it was never something I thought about. I just wanted to be a better pilot. That is all I focused on."

"Unbelievable." Lance ran a hand through his hair. A regret was pulling at his gut, "I totally biffed it too…"

"Biffed what?"

"The kiss," he turned towards Keith, "Mstaan! Why didn't you tell me it was your first kiss?! I would have pulled out all the tricks!"

Keith cringed, "Tricks?"

Lance gets up, stumbling towards Kieth voice, determined. "Let me do it again."

Keith almost slipped off the chair, "What?"

"This is upsetting me- you gotta give me a do over," Lance couldn't stand for this. He wanted Keith's first kiss to be something he would remember- especially if it was from him! He didn't want it to be _dry_ and _nothing special._

"No way!" Keith scrambles out of his chair and in the other direction in a flustered panic.

"Come on dude! You gotta let me prove myself,"

"Prove yourself?' Keith echoed. "No!" Lance manages to corner him, swinging his arms around aimlessly. Keith ducks a little to avoid them, face feeling hot.

"You just said it wasn't a big deal," Lance pouts.

"That doesn't mean I'm just gonna do it again-" Lance snagged his arm and the two of them froze.

Keith felt- a thrill? The anticipation of what was about to happen was staggering. Why was he excited about this?

Lance hadn't moved, however. Only now in front of Keith, Lance's determined confidence failed him. "Oh um…" he steps back, "Wait no- sorry. This is probably weird."

Keith can't voice a response, his heart hammering a mile a second in his chest.

"I'll just- ignore me. Forget what I said."

Keith reaches out and stops him. Not sure what the hell he was doing, he says, "Wait…"

The blue paladin before him shivered a little. "What?"

Keith's voice is barely above a whisper when he says, "F-Fine." What was he saying? Fine?! It wasn't- what was his mind making him say?!

Lance catches his breath. "Fine?" he repeated in shock.

"I said-" Keith clears his throat when his voice trembles, "Yeah, it is fine. Just make it quick…"

"I'm… Okay. Okay yeah! I'm a pro." Lance assured him, feeling giddy. This was happening.

This was actually happening. He was going to smooch the one and only Keith Kogane.

He was going to full out sweep this guy off his feet with his kissing skills- that was a promise!

"So uh…" Lance reached out until his hands found Keith's shoulders. It wasn't until he was standing in front of Keith, cupping his warm and soft-skinned face, that Lance started to feel nervous. "Okay so um-" he licked his lips, "Just follow my lead."

"Stop talking and just do it," Keith whispered frantically.

Lance leaned forward slowly, hesitantly. With his hands on Keith's chin, he brought them closer, a little timid till his found Keith's lips with his own. Starting off the same as before, simply pressing his lips to Keith's, he began to move them.

Keith went rigid at the feeling, not expecting it as compared to last time. Slowly he began to mimic Lance, hands gripping his shoulders.

Feeling a little confident, Lance tilted his head a little, pressing deeper. The warmth and overall softness of these lips were numbing, turning Lance's legs to jelly- but edging him on with each little noise and brush.

Taking a chance, knowing if he didn't soon that he would back off, he gave Keith's bottom lip a quick delicate lick. As expected, the red paladin opened his mouth a little to gasp, and Lance's tongue dove in, sweeping into Keith's.

Keith made a little noise in surprise, tightening his grip. He felt heavy suddenly, and Lance felt as if he was supporting Keith's own body weight a little bit more with each passing second.

Keith made a noise in the back of his throat. It was quiet, barely there but…

Lance couldn't think.

The only thing that mattered was his tongue and Keith's tongue- swirling, pushing and pulling- hot and wet.

Pulling away, both panted heavily, lips tingling. Finding he could somehow chuckle a little through his uneven breaths, Lance asks, "So? How was that for a first kiss?"

He wandered and almost hoped that Keith was red in the face when he said, "Why the- the hell didn't you do that the first time?" he feels a sense of pride that Keith was breathless

"I'm not an exhibitionist when it comes to this stuff." He huffs.

"I don't know what that is." Keith's breathing is starting to calm down.

"Dude, seriously? Don't you know what an exhibitionist is? It isn't like it is a dirty word or anything." he pauses, "Well, I don't really think they just put it on normal spelling tests either, but still... How focused exactly were you in Garrison? Did you ever have a single normal conversation in your life?"

Keith didn't answer really, but Lance could tell he shrugged.

"You have so much to learn," Lance says with pity.

Keith frowns, "I didn't talk about any of this stuff except when it was a required class, okay?"

"Thank god you at least know what sex is."

A hand jabbed into his side, "Lance." He warned.

Wincing, Lance stepped back, "I'm just saying! It is almost bizarre for someone to be as unknowing as you are. You had to be curious about it at least at some point!"

"No, not really." He says bluntly.

"Dude, you are not normal. At all. I mean- you at least have some experience, right?"

"Depends on what you mean by _experience."_

Lance almost wanted to know if Keith had ever even… tried, anything before, but he felt like that was crossing a dangerous line. But the question on whether or not Keith has ever even tried pleasuring himself was still on the table. It was just hidden away by papers or whatever.

"Nothing, forget it." he found himself yawning, "Well uh-" Wondering if it was even okay to just go to bed after that, he stretches his arm over his head, "I'm beat,"  
"We should go to bed,' Keith suggests.

"Couldn't agree more after today." As Lance crawled into bed, he fluffed his pillow- closing and opening his palms against it tightly, "So uh…" he cleared his throat awkwardly, "Do you um- do you mind sleeping-"

Keith was sliding under the sheets next to him.

Smiling a little, Lance laid down, pulling the blankets up to his chin. "Good night," he says.

"Goodnight,"

Lance pulls the blanket closer and smiles a little.

He kissed Keith Kogane.

He kissed the one and only Keith Kogane. At least twice.

Was that the gift he got for collecting those shells? It felt like a thing.

The next morning, Tellru approached them with the doctor. "Today is the day Lance."

He didn't need her to explain to know what she meant. It was time to try and open his eyes.

It was time to try and see if his sight was getting better.


	13. Are they staring at you?

Lance had awoken at the crack of dawn before Tellru had arrived with the doctor.

Jostled awake with a nightmare, one not nearly as bad as the others, he steadied himself with the fact that Keith's arm had slunk its way around his waist.

It is warm and firm, loosely gripping the end of his shirt.

Lance doesn't move.

He lays there and listens to the quiet inhale and exhale next to him, memorizing the sound of Keith's chest rising and falling. He had never seen Keith asleep before, and like every moment before, he wished his sight was better.

He wished he could see if Keith's natural glare lingered even in slumber or if it softened into something peaceful.

Knowing he wouldn't know until his sight returned- if it ever did, he slowly peeled the red paladin's arm off of his waist. Keith muttered a little in his sleep but quickly stilled.

Lance felt cold as he sat up.

The morning air tickled his skin as the rising sun reflected through the blinds and onto his body. He couldn't see this of course- he could only assume.

Shifting to the end of the bed, Lance sat at the edge of the mattress, his hand trailing to his eyes. He tapped them gently, anxiety bumping around in his chest

When they took off those bandages… would he be alright?

The Doctor could not assure improvement if the damage went too deep, so this might all be for nothing. Would a cryo pod even be able to heal him?

He was often told the eyes were one of the most delicate things of a person's body.

Though, through these last few days, Lance felt like everything about the human body was delicate. His entire body had been so sore- aching with each pull of his muscles. It had been a strain to just walk a few days ago.

Granted, the ache had numbed with time, but Lance could still feel the bruises along his arms and fingers. Did they feel worse than they looked? Keith assured him that they were healing well, unlike the wounds to his torso.

The slash at his side was still fresh- startling him awake from time to time when he turned too fast in his sleep.

Punches and blades were too entirely different things to heal from.

Eyes were different too.

Tilting his head, he sighed, heavy and morbid. If his eyes turned out to be just as bad as before… what was he going to do?

Who could he protect if he was blind?

He couldn't… they would need to find a new paladin.

They would need someone better than him.

"Lance?" A foot nudged his side. Lance turned his head a little, reaching out to grip Keith's ankle.

"Did I wake you up?"

"No," he wiggles his toes, "What are you doing up?"

"Thinking," Lance lifted Keith's ankle and placed the red paladin's leg over his lap. Keith folded his second leg over it, using Lance as a leg rest "How is your leg?" With everything Lance had forgotten that he hadn't been the only one injured by a Druid. Keith didn't mention it much so he assumed it didn't hurt any more with that weird healing paste the Coeihns put on their wounds

"It's fine,"

"That's good." His hand trailed a little, circling Keith's heel and up the underside of his foot to his toe. Keith squirmed a little; ticklish.

Lance snorted, "Tickle tickle," he tickled his toes. Keith tensed and buckled his knees.

"Don't," he snorts.

"Didn't peg you as ticklish," Lance moves his hand up and down the bottom of his foot. He rubs it a little in a kind of massage.

Keith seemed to enjoy it so Lance continued, "I'm not ticklish,"

"I think you are…"

Keith hummed a little when Lance massages his heel. Focusing on the task Lance made sure to give Keith the best foot massage he could manage. It was the least he could do honestly for everything Keith has had to do for him these last few days, "Today's the day," he says softly.

There was a long pause before Keith inquired, "Will you be alright?"

Lance wondered if his smile looked as fake as it felt, "Course I will."

"Lance…" He wasn't expecting Keith to sit up and put a hand on his shoulder, "You'll be alright,"

"I just said, of course, I will,"

"You will," Keith assured him.

Lance bit his lower lip. He attempted to tease Keith, to mock him- something to avoid how nervous he felt- but he couldn't. He could only nod.

"Of course…" there was a long pause. One that was too long and awkward for the both of them to feel comfortable. "Um… sleep well?"

"Yeah,"

"Cool,"

"You? Any nightmares?"  
"A little one… nothing new," he tells Keith. Busying himself Lance messed with his toes. "Your toes are so little,"

"Stop messing with them," Keith tried to swat his hands away, "Sto-" a laugh bubbled from his chest. Lance adored it.

Falling back onto his pillow, Lance shifted to hold Keith's legs in place, mercilessly tickling to the bottom of his feet. Keith turned and slapped him to the point where he snorts. Lance ugly laughed hard, "You snorted! You snort!"

"Shut up!" Keith grabbed his shoulders and tried to roll him over. Lance's body fell back and the two rolled along the mattress.  
"Snort snort," Lance mimicked a pig, "Piggy Keith!" his hands found Keith's sides and he squeezed them, poking wildly till Keith snorted again.

"Stop tickling me!" Keith commanded through his giggles.  
"Never~"

Keith tried to curl into himself, hoping to leave less room for Lance to grab him. "Lance-ahahah HAH!" he smacked him again, his face reddening and laughter growing worse when Lance pressed a little weight onto his chest.

Cackling like a Disney villain, Lance brought his hand up to Keith's chin. Keith tries to squish Lance's hand between his chin and shoulder to get him to stop.

When Keith turned his head, delicate lips grazed Lance's cheek.

He shivered.

They both froze at the sensation and leaped back.

With blood rushing to his ears, Lance lifted his hand to his cheek, hoping to rub away the feeling. Keith was oddly quiet across from him. Well no, there was nothing odd about it. It was the perfect amount of silence considering what had happened yesterday when they… kissed.

They even frenched it out!

Lance hadn't really thought he would take it that far but when he had found himself in the moment he couldn't help himself. He had wanted to… He couldn't believe he was even thinking this, but he wanted to _taste_ Keith!

He still did. God, he still did! How could he still want that? How could he have wanted that the first time, especially with this mullet wearing jerk!?

A jerk who turned out to be a little more… nicer, than Lance would have first thought.

The feeling was bruising to his heart.

"Um…" he cleared his throat.

What could he say? They kind of just went right to bed after they made out so the could avoid the conversation- but they should talk about this. It was one thing in front of the Coeihns, but they had done it alone too.

There was no reason for them to kiss a second time yesterday but they did. Lance could try to play it off as him just wanting to assure Keith's first kiss was a good one, which is what most of what that was about, but it felt wrong to just leave it there.

Especially because he wanted to do it again.

"Man," he patted his stomach, "I sure am hungry- are you hungry?"  
"...Yeah." Keith answered in the one-word response, which he often seemed to do when he was unsure of what to say or embarrassed.

Shuffling off the bed Lance made his way across the room to the storage unit. It was kind of like a fridge in how it was cold but it was more of stone than metal. It was very strange.

Opening it, he grabbed some juice and one of Tellru's handmade meals. Moving it to the small fire, he placed it on the platform to warm up.

Neither of them spoke.

Lance messed up, didn't he? He shouldn't have kissed him that second time. They talked like nothing was wrong when it was through but now that time has passed well…

Lance hated to think about it.

He could care less if Keith didn't talk to him before- or if they hated each other… or avoided each other. Now the thought was…

Well, to be blunt, he didn't want that.

"Hey so- what should our plans be for today?" Lance pushed for conversation. He talked needlessly, like he always did to get a smile from himself or from the others around him. "I mean, of course, we are probably going to watch Ruru, but maybe we can take her somewhere? Like the park? Or-" hearing the small metal canister beginning to shake, he reached for it.

"Hey!" Lance almost screamed when Keith yelled a little too close to his ear and grabbed his wrist. Not even realizing Keith had made his way so close to him, Lance leaped up, startled. "Jeez- watch it!" he yanked Lance's hand away from the boiling metal- which would have severely burned his hand had he not bothered to put on the protective glove first.

"Oh… sorry," Lance mumbled. Allowing Keith to pull out their breakfast he followed him to the table, shuffling close behind him. "Sorry,"

"I know."  
They ate in a humiliating atmosphere of judgment and regret. It was horrible.

Why did Lance kiss him? Twice? Why did he do that?!

He had only just begun to pound his forehead into the table in frustration when Tellru knocked on the door. When they opened it she greeted them curtly then turned to Lance, "It is time,"

He knew what she meant.

His bandages.

The Doctor gave him many details on his eyes that Tellru had to translate. Most of them were things he already knew but from what he could tell, there had been progress to the damaged skin.

Pulling off the bandages, Lance took a shaky breath, "So just… open them?"

"Yes," Tellru says, "Slowly. If it hurts, keep them closed."

"Okay…" he was hesitant. He tried multiple times, thinking that it was like a bandaid and he should just snap them open. But at the last second he always stopped himself. "I uh-" he chuckled weakly. "Keith?" he whispered, not even sure why he was calling for him.

"I'm here," he tells him, "Open them, Lance."

And he did.

Keith had knelt to a knee next to him, watching with baited breath. When Lance's eyelashes fluttered, they opened, revealing a clouded over dark blue that he had missed the day they shut.

"Lance," he breathed out,

"What can you see?' Tellru inquired cautiously.

Lance blinked once, then twice, mouth forming a thin line. Everything was blurry, horribly blurry, but light was definitely able to get into his eyes, "You are all blurry- I can't really see any of you, just one big blurr," he was positive he would get a headache from all of this.

The doctor inquired something and Tellru asked, "Can you see colors?"

"..." Lance shivered and inhaled like he was about to cry, "Yes,"

"That is an improvement," Tellru praised. His eyes were getting better.

They were healing.

Lance inhaled sharply, blinking rapidly. There was a chance...

Suddenly, there was a different color from before. It was bright, sticking out like a sore thumb. Not expecting it, Lance lifted his hand. His finger brushed a nose- "Keith?" he cupped his face.

"Yeah?" He had inched a little closer to Lance, examining every detail of his face and relieved to see that some of the torn skin had begun to heal.

"Your eyes…" Lance murmured.

He frowned, "What about them?"

"I can see their color," Lance bring's Keith's face into both of his hands like an amazed child, leaning closer to examine them better. "Keith- I can see your eyes,"

"Excellent," Tellru said with relief and told the doctor. He smiled, nodding vigorously and saying a few words to Tellru, "The treatment is definitely working. We still cannot guarantee your full sight just yet, but even the smallest step is still a step,"

Lance was still so entranced with Keith's eyes to really hear her and nodded. He had just never really paid much attention to Keith's eyes before. "I can see the color… Keith, look at them. What do you even call this color?" he tells him breathlessly. They were beautiful. He laughs- broken and quiet. "This just might be my new favorite color,"

Keith nods a little, sucking in a little breath, smiling softly, "Okay you weirdo,"

"We now know the procedure is working- so we will continue to use it. Hopefully, the process will continue to show results," she began reaching for bandages.

Lance held off on letting her put them on. He wanted to look at Keith as much as possible. It felt like a crime that he wasn't able to continue before he had to put on the bandages.

It was time to start the day after all and Tellru had to get to work.

"I can't thank you enough Tellru," Lance tells her as they walk down the steps, towards the Kever's.

"Think nothing of it. It was the Doctor's remedy that is helping you, not me,"  
'But I never would have gotten this far without your help so… thank you," he says honestly. She pauses to clap a hand on his shoulder.

"It was my pleasure, Lance. You have aided me greatly these last few days by watching Ruru and giving her companionship."

"I still don't understand how she doesn't have any friends," Lance shakes his head, "She is an amazing girl,"

"Her braces make her seem weaker to others- children are strange. I was not liked very much as a child myself- only because I was always smarter than the others in my class. Dravla was more popular, though- his Father was the 5th champion then, so people often approached him." she clears her throat, "Oh but, I am positive she will show everyone in time how strong she is. She is very resilient, you know,"

"I can tell," Keith smiles, "What exactly are you doing today, Tellru?"  
"Common business-" she cuts herself off, her face morphing into disgust. A Coeihn was approaching them. Keith felt he had seen him before but couldn't quite place it. He wore large armor that he recognized from many of the guards around the castle.

When this Coeihn approached them, he grumbled darkly to Tellru, "Tellru," he says

"Rashra," She greeted just as coldly.

Lance recognized the name and subconsciously reached for Keith, wrapping his arm around his shoulder. Startled at how the grip almost felt… protective, Keith blinked wildly at the blue paladin.

Lance couldn't help it. This was the guy that had put a claim on Keith… and almost got him.

The thought alone pissed him off enough to lift his middle finger up at the guy.

Considering that Keith was the only one who seemed to react to the action, Lance could assume this planet didn't know what it meant.

Rashra spoke a few words, and Tellru replied calmly and robotically. They didn't share pleasantries by any means, but it seemed to be at least something business related.

Keith would notice Rashra glance to him from time to time- each glance making Tellru bristle a little and snap her fingers angrily at him to catch his attention.

She looked ready to punch the guy by the time he left.

"What did he want?" Lance frowned, his arm never once leaving Keith's shoulders.

"I've been summoned to a meeting in an hour. Something has happened towards the coast. You need not worry yourself over it. But this will cut my time in half. We should hurry to my house."

"We can get there by ourselves," Keith assures her, shifting his shoulders a little under Lance's arm, "You go and do whatever it is you need to do. The more business you can get the done the more time the King might have- right?"

"Indeed. He will even be here at this meeting so I shall attempt to speak with him on seeing you both while I am there,"  
"That would be great Tellru, thanks," Lance grinned and waved her off. When she left, he turned his attention to Keith when he cleared his throat.

"...Gonna let go of me?"

"Huh?"

Keith's finger tapped Lance's wrist… his arm was still wrapped around Keith's shoulder in a side hug.

Lance wasn't sure if he should feel embarrassed or not, almost feeling like the question was a challenge, "...No?" he says slowly, drawing the word out.

He was sure Keith was raising an eyebrow at him. Usually, one to take the bait and shove Lance's away, Keith kind of just shuffled his feet, "Oh…"

They started walking, Lance's arm snugly over Keith's shoulders, hip to hip. It would be less awkward if Keith also wrapped his arm around Lance- but he didn't, so it just kind of hung behind them oddly.

He was so awkward sometimes.

When they arrive at the house, Dravla is waiting on the porch for them. His gear is already on and he is peeling the skin off of a few pieces of strangely shaped fruit. "Morning Boys," he greets.

"Hey Dravla," Lance waves a little, "What'cha doing?"

"Thought you would both like to try some fruit! This is a rare kind found outside of the Kingdom. They are a little peculiar, though. The outside of the fruit is poisonous, but the inside is actually quite healthy for you- how strange is that?"  
"Are you trying to feed us poison?" Keith frowns at him.

"I'm peeling it so it won't kill you," Dravla says, "You both came at a perfect time, though- I was just summoned for a meeting,"  
"So was Tellru,"  
"Oh, then it must be the same one. Can you go get Ruru for me while I'll finish this up?"

"I'll get her," Keith slowly slips out of Lance's grip without a word and steps inside.

When he is gone, Dravla starts to hum. "So… How have you been?" There is this undertone that Lance is wary of.

"Fine." he says stiffly, "Why do you ask?"  
"Well- I just wanted to see how Keith and you were lately- especially after yesterday,"

Lance turned away, startled, "W-What is that supposed to mean?" he blushed.

"You two kissed," he says bluntly, "Or did you forget?" Dravla tugs Lance's arm to make him sit down. He hands him a piece of fruit a second later.

"...Of course I didn't." Lance takes an angry bit of it, swooning a second later at the delicious taste. "This is good,"  
"Told ya,"

Munching on it, Lance kicked his legs a little, "Sorry you had to step in because of us yesterday," he says quietly, "You didn't get hurt, right?"

"Of course not. I am just sorry you had to go through that. My people haven't made the best impression… They are really kind people, some of us are just rough around the edges…" he pauses, "We have many rules that not all of us agree with and the Arena- well, only the fowl criminals and murders go there. It isn't often that someone like yourself stumbles within our borders. It is hard to decipher friend from foe- so I apologize. I hope you can forgive my people,"

"It is okay, Dravla. I've been through worse fights… I get it. Honestly, I've moved past that whole Arena thing- it is Keith who is still angry with it."

"He has every right to be. Honestly, I wish the Arena could be the only thing you have to deal with- but of course, there are still assassination attempts and those of the older generation who dislike the fact that you are here."

"Yeah… But, we fixed that yesterday, right? With the uh… the k-kiss?"

"Well they are still staring," he shrugs as he lifts up a few pieces of fruit. Lance groans.

"Why?"  
"They will until Keith is unpure- that is just how it is. They can't help it. There will be doubt until the deed is done,"

"It's ridiculous,"  
"Well- Tellru told you the means in which to make them look away for a while," he says innocently. "You just pucker up and maybe add a little tongue-"

"I don't need you to explain it!" Lance squeaked. Lance wasn't sure he could handle kissing Keith again after their little… moment, the night before. "B-But… Uh… Tellru said something about gifts. Gifts to give Keith, right?" he swallowed.

"Did she? Gifts could work,"  
"What exactly would I give him?"  
"Small tokens of affection. I for one love when Tellru gifts me hand-written letters," he gushes a little, "She has quite a way with words,"

"I can't really see- so writing isn't really an option. Plus, I was never one for Poetry. What else is there?"  
"Get him sweets, embrace him in public- that should be easy for you since you are both always holding hands anyway," he wiggles his eyebrows.

"I- that isn't-" Lance turns away with a blush," Don't read too much into that," he commands.

"That is kind of hard,"

"Shut up," he muttered.

After a little chuckled, Dravla says, "Oh, would you mind running to the store for us while we are gone? Ruru is going to be a part of a production of sorts at her education facility-"  
"Her school?"  
"...If that is what they call it in your world then yes, her school. They are holding a small little performance and she is playing a being that has this blue dress for an outfit." he hands him some money, "Would you mind going to get it? She knows what it looks like"  
"Leave it to me," he smiled

Smiling, Dravla rose when Keith returned with Ruru. "Okay Ruru, you behave now. Lance agreed to help you get your dress so show him the proper one- and don't try to trick him into getting you those weird glowing pink shoes you've been asking for."

She smiles innocently and nods.

"Glowing pink shoes?' Lance gasped as they go to grab her shoes, "Those sound fancy!"

Rolling his eyes Dravla steps towards Keith.

"Keith," Dravla pulls him to the side, "When you go to town today, keep a close eye on Lance, alright?"  
"I was going to do that without you telling me to," he huffs.

Dravla chuckles, "Of course. Just- make sure you both do not consume anything unless it is given to you by us for now. We can never be sure what someone will try. When in crowds keep Lance at a close distance. I think after yesterday things should cool down a little- but there can always be more than one reason someone tries to have him killed…" He pats his shoulder, "You'll do fine though I'm sure," grabbing his stuff, he threw his bag over his shoulder, "Thank you again, Klance!" he bows his head to them.

"No problem- wait, what?" he frowns, "What did you just call us?"  
"Klance., You know, it is what is sounds like when you mix your names together. Tellru told me about it,"  
"You just added a K in front of Lance," Keith points out with a scowl, "There is no mixing with that,"

Dravla rubs his chin and hums, "If you say so. See you in a few hours,"

When he left, they helped Ruru get her shoes on and set off. Needless to say, Ruru did try to convince them to buy her pink glowing shoes.

Lance said yes.

Keith said no.

There was a long argument on the pros and cons of having Pink glowing shoes. Lance thought they were the best thing to have, but Keith didn't understand how essential they were.

"Keith, look at them, they are pink and glowing," Lance holds them up.

"I am, and I still don't see how they are useful,"

"THEY ARE PINK AND GLOW! How much more useful do you need to get!?"

"You can't even see them!"

"I don't need to- I already know they are amazing!"

"Dravla said not to get them, Lance,"

"I'll buy them for her- Tellru paid me a few days ago for babysitting," he stuffs his hands into his pocket.

"She doesn't need them!"

"I disagree! If I would love my own pair then she definitely needs them!"

Keith took the shoes away before Lance could say another word, "No,"

"Dream killer!" Lance called to him, "Keef has betrayed us, Ruru," he drops to his knees dramatically. Ruru fakes a sob.

Keith just rolls his eyes at them.

Knowing how could convince Keith to let him get the shoes, Lance turn to go through the rest of the store. It wasn't hard to locate Ruru's dress. Lance couldn't see it, but Keith said it looked like a princess dress. Placing it into the basket, Lance toured the rest of the store.

Running his hands along the shelves, he pauses at a certain type of fabric, "What are these?" He asked Ruru, hoping she would know the english word for it. Keith was currently busy going over the store's boots.

"Mitt,"  
"Mitt?"

"Mitt mitt,"

Not sure what she meant, he says slowly, "Mitten? Like a glove?" it didn't feel like a winter type of fabric, so he slipped it over his hand. It was definitely a glove. "What color is it?" he asks, knowing she had learned a few.

"Black,"

"Black gloves…" Lance wonders if this kind of thing would make a nice gift. It was suppose to be something that would make Keith happy- right? So then..."Perfect," he grinned, hiding them out of sight when Keith started to come back. It was a struggle to try to buy them without him noticing, but teaming up with Ruru made it possible.

They both snickered as they walked out of the store.  
"What are you two giggling about back there?' Keith asked suspiciously over his shoulder.

"Nothing," they respond with matching Cheshire smiles

Waiting for a few blocks, he knew he should give the gift to Keith soon when he started to hear Ruru giggling excitedly, unable to contain herself. "Give give," she insisted, tugging on his sleeve.

Alright, calm down," he chuckled.

"What?" Keith inquired.

Pulling the little bag out of his pocket, he handed it to Keith, "Here,"

Hearing the sound of the ruffling paper, he knew by Keith's silence that he had opened it, "Gloves," he says.

"Tellru said she was never able to figure out where they put your old ones- so I thought you might like new ones."

"Oh...," Keith says and places them one.

"So, do you uh… do you like them?" Lance feels oddly nervous.

"Yes," he can hear the smile in Keith's tone, "Thank you,"

"Look nice!" Ruru grins brightly.

"Well then- good," Lance grinned and walked forward. Keith quickly followed, walking side by side with him. Though lance couldn't see it, Keith was staring at his hands, admiring his new gloves. He didn't really ever get gifts- so receiving one was a pleasant surprise.

Not to mention, he was really starting to miss his gloves.

Shuffling a little closer to Lance, knowing they were entering a crowded area, Keith recalled what Dravla has said before.

 _Keep him close._

Then uh… well, maybe it was alright too do what they had been doing before?

He wrapped his arm around Lance's neck and tugging him a little closer. Lance was a little startled a first but didn't say much on it when he sensed the presence of others passing them.

Slowly, but surely, Lance lifted his arm to wrap around Keith's shoulders, refusing to be as awkward as Keith had been about this before. His arm felt too strange to just be hanging around, so might as well make this feel comfortable.

Neither of them say a word about their position, arms hooked over each other tightly. They liked it and didn't want any mention of it to break the moment.

"Lala!" Ruru tugged on his sleeve.  
"Yeah, sweetpea?"  
"Play?" she inquired.

"She wants to play on the playground over there," Keith says.

"I don't see why not," Lance smiles, "Go ahead!" he waves her off. She cheers and runs off. Keith and him end up moving to the surrounding fence, Keith watching her quietly as Lance listens to the sound of children and talking parents around them.

"Hey…"

"What?" Keith asks him.  
"So you really like the gloves?"

"I do."  
"Good," he smiles a little, his hand slowly slithering down to Keith's hand, feeling the material, "They are soft but I think they should last a while,"

Keith doesn't reply instantly, his pinky slowly trailing up to graze Lance's wrist, "They will. Thanks for thinking of me, Lance,"

With a lump suddenly forming in his throat at the gentle touch, Lance's lips form a little smile, "You've done a lot… I've been pretty useless lately,"

"You saved me from the Arena, Lance," Keith disagrees, "You've done more than I ever could or have yet to do," his eyes trail over the bruises still ugly and swollen on Lance's fingers. "...You've done too much for me," caught in the sight, his hands move up to Lance's face. Hesitant fingers brush over Lance's bruises, his expression tight and dark. "It's my turn now to watch over you, Lance,"

"Um…"

It was hard through the bandages, but Keith could see the warm red blooming onto Lance's face. Startled by it, Keith pulled his hand away, feeling just as flustered, "O-Okay? So just- if there is trouble, let me handle it."

"Sure…" Lance coughed a little into his hand. In truth, he should rely on Keith more. Keith could see, and the injury on his leg was healing well- leaving him in little pain. Keith could handle any threat that came by, probably.

Of course Lance hated to just sit by and allow someone else to protect him- never wanting someone to get hurt for him.

Keith could take care of himself, and easily take care of anyone around him.

But Lance couldn't help but worry…

And not just about threats that wanted to kill them.

He worried about threats that wanted to do… other things. Things to Keith.

Lance could feel them- the eyes of the older Coeihns. They were watching them… Correction, they were watching Keith. They were wondering why he hadn't been claimed yet… some perhaps even wanting to claim him for themselves. It made his blood boil with a foreign feeling. Not quite sure how to describe this bile in the back of his throat, he asked with a thick voice, "Are people staring at you?"

"Always," Keith says absentmindedly.

It made him angry- the idea that Keith and him couldn't just live in a peace until they could get off of this planet just to go fight a war to save these people from a bigger evil!

… Okay, so maybe he had lied to Dravla a bit. Lance was still upset a little about the whole Arena thing. That had been a pretty terrifying time for him! He thought he would never see Keith again and would die!

Sure the Coeihns grew on him a bit and he definitely didn't blame all of them for that time, especially since many of them actually seemed to really like him and praise him for his efforts, but you couldn't blame him for being a little mad still, right?

They had treated Keith like some… potential Sex object.

"I don't like them staring at you…" he admits, lifting his arm to place it on Keith's shoulder. Keith is a little surprise to hear him just announce such a thing.

"There isn't much we can do about it,"  
"Yes, there is." Lance disagrees, "Tellru told me I just have to convince them…"  
"Convince them?" Keith wasn't sure what he meant, "Well- if you can, then go ahead, I guess. Don't really know how you would do that but you can try you best-"

Visibly shakened by Keith's agreement, Lance straightened his spine. Not sure if Keith realized what he had just agreed too, he licked his lips. "You mean uh...Are they staring at you right now?" a strange sensation overwhelming his senses.

"I told you before they were."  
"Are they still staring?" he opened and closed his palms, anxious yet excited.

"Yes Lance, jeez-" he grumbled.

"Good." using the arm that was still wrapped around Keith shoulder, Lance trailed his fingers up from Keith neck to his chin. He gripped it and turned it towards tim. As he did this, Lance reached down with his second hand to perch it on Keith's hip. When he attempted to question what the blue paladin was doing, Lance kissed him.

It was wet, bruising, and oh so delectable.

When Lance pulled away, face still only inches from Keith's, he inquired again, "Are they still staring?"

Keith was slow to respond, his voice quiet and unfocused, "Um- w-what?"

"Are they still staring at you?"

"N-No. What was-?"

"Then it worked." Lance grinned.

Keith was freaking out, "W-Worked? What worked?! What- what was that?" he reached his hand up to trailed his thumb against his lip. Blushing madly, he snapped his hand downward to frantically remove Lance's grip from his hip, "You kissed me!" he stated the obvious, not sure what else to do.

Only feeling nervous then, Lance chuckled timidly, "Oh well, Tellru told me I would have to kiss you to keep Coeihn eye's off of you. I just assumed she meant I would have to do it a couple times a day or something... It's the only way besides downright having sex with you to show everyone your my um… equivalent, or whatever."

Keith stepped away from him, struggling to control the reddening of his skin and fluttering of his heart, "Give me a warning next time you do that!" he yelled.

Lance flinched a little, nodding, "Yeah, sorry," he says honestly. After a small pause, his whispers, "Did you… dislike it?"

Keith froze up. He panted, staring at this strange Cuban boy before him. He had asked that so… earnestly. He couldn't help but stammer the truth, "N-No. I just- wasn't expecting it."

Lance shuffled his feet a little. The skip to his heart must have been affecting his mind because he asked, "Then, did you like it?"

Keith had long since lost his composure, "W-Well… a little,"

"Are the still staring at you?" Lance wasn't sure what was coming over him. He spoke these words with every ounce of confidence he had, despite knowing what they would mean. He was just so surprised to Keith being a fumbling mess- stuttering and shaking…

Someone please tell say that he was blushing.  
Lance could die happy to know he had gotten Keith Kogane to blush.

"Keith," he says again when the other didn't answer, "Are they still staring at you?"

"S-some…" he took a shaky step back when Lance moves closer. One step, two steps- Keith's back hit the fence behind him. He gasped as the blue paladin placed both his arms by the side of his head. Realizing he had been pinned, Keith turned his head the other way and bit his lip- Lance's breath felt hot against his ear.

He was so close.

Too close.

Why wasn't he pushing him away? Why couldn't Keith's stupid heart shut up for a couple seconds to let him think!?

"Keith,"

"...What?" Keith whispered.

"If this is too much… T-tell me to stop," Lance croaked.

Keith didn't.

"Then I'm not stopping…" Lance wondered if he was already closing his eyes and waiting. With that exhilarating thought, Lance leaned forward. Keith was surprisingly very eager when their lips met and pushed into Lance full force.

Pleased when Keith hummed into the kiss, Lance could feel one of Keith's hand trailing up to cup the back of his neck, using it to steady them both.

Though this kiss was more chaste than their last one, the warmth was enough to make their legs shake.

Lance couldn't help but push his luck a little and sucked Keith's bottom lip roughly. Keith gasped.

Pulling away after a little to nibble the swelling lip, loving the way it made Keith shiver, Lance husks, "Just a warning- I'm going to do that whenever they stare at you, okay?" the more the Coeihns saw this the more they would leave them alone. He wanted all these eyes off of Keith immediately. It was that soul thought alone that allowed Lance to keep his confidence during this whole exchange.

It wasn't till Keith agreed with a quiet and very awed, "Okay," that he began to realize everything he had just done.

Not once, nooooo, he had kissed Keith Kogane twice today. And thank goodness for that because that was amazing. And Keith even kissed back!

"Okay?" He repeated. Keith took a few seconds to reply

"Don't make me say it again…" he whispered. It was shy and timid and Lance thought it was the cutest thing in the entire universe. "I-It's just to make sure the coeihns mind their own business… right?" It was an excuse.

"Of course," Lance agreed anxiously, willing to go with anything at this moment if it meant he could kiss this red paladin again, "It's just a show…" he leaned in a little. Their lips brushed- they both shivered.

"An act," Keith's breathing quickened.

"I completely agree," Knowing they were both lying, Lance almost found it funny that they couldn't just admit this was something. Of course he wasn't sure what that something was, but it was definitely something… different, from what they had before, "So tell me… are they looking at you?"

He was positive Keith didn't even both to look around before saying, "Yes,"

Ready to pull him forward and kiss him again, the two froze when a voice called to them

"Keef! Lala!" Rudy was calling from the playset. Recalling that they were technically on babysitting duty, the two paladins leaped away from each other.

"Y-yeah?" They stammered

"I found a leaf!" she declares. The whole ground was covered in them from how windy the day was, had she really interrupted them just for a single one she probably found on the ground next to every other leaf?  
Inhaling to calm himself, Keith forces a smile, "Good job, Ruru,"

"... Leaf make cooties go byebye!" she giggled smugly. It was her Father's laughs in every form. The little mini Dravla, she totally interrupted them on purpose!

"Why you…" Lance grumbled to himself. He was glad he didn't end up buying her those pink glow shoes! She just messed up his makeout session with Keith- ….

W-With Keith.

He was about to make out with Keith.

Willingly.

Wait no- he technically already did! N-Not anything long, mind you, but there was still lip to lip contact! And a little t-tongue! And Keith still tasted like- well, he couldn't describe it. Him? How do you describe someone who just tastes like himself? Wonderful and strong and oh so intoxicating.

Oh… Oh no. Oh no no no no, what was he doing?

"RURU, WE'RE GOING HOME!" Lance cupped his hands around his mouth and belted into the darkness. In his panic, he rushed them all back to the apartment and they played a weird board game in utter silence till Tellru and Dravla got home.

"Hey," Dravla knelt down to lift Ruru up.

She said something to him without a second of hesitation.

Dravla gasped dramatically, "You two kissed again?"  
"Ruru!" They yelled.

Tellru was already clapping, "Oh well done you two! I'm very happy with the progress you two have made~"

"Little snitch," Lance accused Ruru who giggled innocently. She was just like his little sister at home! It kind of made him happy at how nostalgic this felt, but anger still lurked in the shadows.

In the end, they shared dinner with them and left back to their apartment. Really, with nothing much to do it was more of like Lance and Keith were on some… small vacation. Days were passing so quickly.

What day was this? Day 11?

Lance wasn't even sure anymore.

What could he possibly do but wait anyway? They couldn't just force their way to the outer world communication area- wherever that even was. Tellru probably purposively didn't tell them so they wouldn't even try to attempt it- which Keith totally might.

He forgot to even ask if Tellru had gotten a chance to speak with the King today. Hopefully, she did and managed to arrange something.

If not they would just have to wait…

Together.

...Would they have to kiss every day? He wouldn't mind that.

But Keith…. ?

This might be harder than he first thought.

"K-Keith?" he stammered nervously as he fluffed his own pillow,

"Yeah?" he asked cautiously.

"If I…" he swallows, his throat stinging at how sore it was, "If I stepped too far today, I-"

"No," Keith quickly cuts the thought down as they lay down… together, in the same bed. Cause that was a thing now. Now need to ask it, Keith just did it… Which Lance kind of liked, "No it was fine," Keith pauses and takes a moment to fiddle with the sheets, "I didn't mind,"

"You didn't?"

"Yeah. You aren't- that bad of a kisser,"

"...Really?" Lance says quietly- excited.

Keith nods a little.

Lance was grinning. "You kinda suck," Keith threw a pillow at him and he laughed, "If it makes you feel better, I think you are getting better,"

Taking a second to realize they have kissed at least 4 or so times since arriving at this world they buried their faces into their pillows.

"You think?"

Lance nodded numbly, "Definitely- honestly… I probably wouldn't mind doing it again," his voice sounded muffled through his pillow.

"Oh… C-Cool," Keith stammered, voice equally as muffled. "...Me too."

They didn't say anything after that, their hearts going crazy and minds thinking too deeply on the softness of the other's lips.

What kind of pit have they dug for themselves?


	14. We have time to figure it out

Keith awoke with Lance's face pressed into the back of his neck and arm slinked around his waist. It was almost thought of as romantic until Keith realized both of his arms were asleep.

Groaning, hating the sensation of his limbs falling asleep, he pulled himself from Lance's grip and sat up. Stretching, he yawned, "Wake up, Lance," he says over his shoulder. Lance stirred a little, rolling over.

"5 more minutes,"

"Now," Kieth kicks his legs over the side and Lance topples out.

With a thud, he slowly says, "...How cruel you are Keith,"

"Get up,"

"Not even an apology. Is your heart so cold~" Lance says dramatically, rising to his feet.

"Do you want breakfast or not?"

"I do." they heard a knock coming from the front door.

"I got it!" Lance ran for it.

"No wait-"

He already swung the door open.

What if it was some criminal? Or the guy behind the assassination attempts? Did Lance have no sense of caution?

"Hello~! Oh, hey Tellru."

It was just Tellru, good.

When Tellru stepped in, she lifted a bag with some food, "Hungry?"

"Always,' Lance says.

"Hey," Keith cleared his throat awkwardly. Struggling to look at Lance directly, he recalled the nights before. He always seemed to recall all the wrong things at the worse times, "Hey Tellru," he says again. She tossed him a small pile of clothes. Staring at them curiously, he raised his eyebrow, "What are these?"

"Tellru, did you make us new clothes?" Lance tossed his pajama shirt off and Keith had to look away. Internally screaming the entire 10 seconds it took Lance to place back on a shirt, he coughed into his hand.

"O-Oh… Thank you Tellru, you didn't have too."

She was giving him a squinty-eyed look, "It's no problem," she says suspiciously, "You both have been wearing the same stuff for a week. You need variety," she insists, "Plus, I don't mind. I always wanted to make clothes when I was younger, but my life lead towards deciphering languages instead. I'm happy to be given the chance to pursue a childhood dream."

"I definitely appreciate it," Lance stepped back to show off the outfit. "How do I look?"

"It fits you perfectly." Tellru clapped a little. Keith couldn't help but notice the outfits seemed to match each other.

"You have a thing with making matching clothes," he comments, throwing the shirt over his head.

"I like it when you two match- it is cute," she grins, "But, I should tell you the news I originally came here to say. You do not need to watch Ruru today. She has a field trip out of the Kingdom today before her little performance- something about learning the ways of acting through the outdoors or something strange like that. She needs an adult to go and I already took the day off, so you two have the day to yourselves."

"Cool," Lance is messing with the collar of his shirt, "What exactly is there around here that is fun?"

She hums a little, "Well, you could always go see Dravla. He is tending to the Parlog's today,"

Keith remembered those. They were the weird pig/bull/deer or whatever things they saw a few days back.

"We could try that," he shrugs.

"Splendid. Oh, and Lance, I brought so news from the Doctor. If you wouldn't mind, could you go around today without your bandages?"

Her request surprised him, "Without them? Why?"

"If they start to hurt put the bandages back on, but we would like to give your eyes as much time in the sun as possible to help with the healing. The jelly we place on your eyes works in both darkness and light, and for a short time can be very effective in broad daylight,"

"Oh," Lance is already reaching for the back of his head to pull them off, "Cool. Yeah, I can do that," tossing the bandages, he grins. "Alright! Let's go see those Parlogs!" Lance ran into the door.

Keith was quick to approach him to check to see if he was okay, "I thought you said yesterday that you could see?" he questions.

"No… I said I can see a few colors and some blobby shapes," Lance grumbles, rubbing his nose.

"Please be careful," Tellru sighed at them and grabbed her stuff. "I shall see you both later,"

"Goodbye, Tellru,"

"Bye Tellru," Lance went to the mirror and leaned forward to try and look at himself. "Do my eyeballs look weird?" he asked Keith.

Closing the door when Tellru left, Keith frowned at him, "They were injured,"

"So they do?"  
"They look a little bloodshot, kind of bruised…" he admits.

"I wonder if I could hypnotize people with them," Lance giggled, "Like Kaa,"

"Like who?" Keith questions

"Look into my eyes, Keith." Lance suddenly says in a deep voice, "Trust in me~"

Keith backs up when Lance starts to make weird slithering motions with his arms, "What the hell are you doing?"

Lance grabbed his face, squishing his cheeks, "Trust in me, just in me. Shut your eyes~~" he sang with a wiggle of his eyebrows. Knowing he was just trying to be goofy, as Lance always was, Keith usually would just play along… but he couldn't just play along with this time. Not after the other day when they had kissed... and then admitted to liking the kissing. Was Lance just not remembering this or something?

Lance was just grinning like an idiot, unlike Keith, who's entire face was burning brightly. He wondered if Lance could see it- or at least feel it. From what he had told him before, Lance could clearly see the color of Keith's eyes, but not much else. Hopefully, that was still the case.

"Um…" Keith averted his gaze, "I don't really-"

"Do you not trust me, little man cub?"

Obviously having not seen this movie or show that he was trying to reference, Keith gulped, "I… trust you,"

"Aww, you do?" Lance pulled back then, looking pleased, "Keith Kogane trusts little old me~"

"You- what the hell Lance!?" Keith grumbled at him, "You were the one who asked,"

"I didn't think you'd answer honestly," Lance grins. Pausing, Lance went a little quiet. Then he turned red. Not sure what was running through his mind, Keith hadn't expected Lance to suddenly extend out his hand. "So… let's go?" he asked. Realizing he wanted to hold hands, Keith slowly intertwined their fingers and they walked out the door.

Not sure what was running through his mind, Keith hadn't expected Lance to suddenly extend out his hand. "So… let's go?" he asked. Realizing he wanted to hold hands, Keith slowly intertwined their fingers and they walked out the door.

This was routine.

This was natural.

So what was he getting flustered about?

Having walked past the Parlog area multiple times Lance knew the route by heart and talked nonstop the way there. Keith was grateful he didn't have to push for conversation. It would have been awkward if he had to.

The worse part, was that things shouldn't have been awkward right now! Lance wasn't awkward, so he shouldn't be either.

….Though, considering what happened last night, perhaps they should be awkward? They had both openly confessed that they enjoyed kissing the other and would gladly do it again.

So….

Where did that leave them?  
Wildly confused, Keith could see Dravla approaching them. Just forget it, for now, Keith- focus on the Parlogs.

"Hey boys!" Dravla waved, "Like your outfits!"

"Thanks!" Lance waves back.  
"Oh and look at you- out and about without bandages. It looks like it is healing well," Dravla praises, "Don't hurt, right?"

"I don't feel any pain yet," he nods,

Dravla hums, "That's good. Oh- hey…" he glances over his shoulder then back at them, "Wanna see something cool?"  
"Course," they nod.

Dravla motions for them to follow, leading them back behind the Parlog's pent to a smaller one behind it. "Few months ago we got our new generation of parlogs… the babies are being let out to the side pent for a while," Dravla announces, "I thought you boys might want to see them.".

"Babies? Babies are always a cute yes for me!" Lance cheers and tugs on Keith's hand to make him move faster.

The small Parlogs were running around within the small pen, snorting and running into each other like endless balls of energy. They barely came up to Keith's knees, unlike the much larger adults.

"Are they cute?" Lance asks.

"Yeah."

Lance knelt a little by the fence to peek through the opening. Squinting a little, he could barely make out the forms of the parlong. That is until one little one in particular pressed it's face into the opening of the fence and snorted at him.

Lance laughed and stepped back, "Aww! They are so little,"

"Doesn't take them long to grow though," Dravla chuckled, "This is usually the time you want to bond with a Parlog- the connection grows stronger with time. Plus, it's a lot easier to wrestle one of these little guys to the ground instead of their parents,"

"You have to wrestle it every time?" Keith asks.

"Usually- most the of the time the Parlog does it just to play- but if they don't know you then the first time you wrestle it to ride it is when it is the most violent. It doesn't know you and you have to prove your worth,"

"Sounds like Red," Lance grinned.

"You said before you'd let me have a go on trying to ride on,' Keith says to Dravla. Though previously he seemed very willing to let Keith try, Dravla wasn't as open to the idea now.

"Oh uh… well yeah, but- these things are dangerous. You could get hurt,"

"I can handle danger," Keith tells him.

Lance was with Dravla on this 100 percent. "Is your leg even fully healed?"

'It's fine,"

Lance could hear the older Parlog's in the distance, ramming into walls and themselves in violent motions. Each collide made him flinch, "Well…"

"We need something to spend our time on." Keith tells him, "I would find it fun,"

"I would not," lance doesn't hesitate to say.

"I want to try," Keith tells Dravla.

Lance wants to pull out his hair, "Keith, come on," he tells him. "That is crazy,"

"I agree,' Dravla nods nervously.

Suddenly, a Coehin calls Dravla over. Glancing of his shoulder at them, Dravla waves a little, calling back. The Coehins seems curious about something and Dravla is hesitant to reply.

The Coeihn then looks at Keith in shock and starts to laugh.

Keith doesn't take it well. "What is he laughing at?" he grumbled.

"He uh… I told him that you want to try and ride a Parlog and he finds it funny,' Dravla says cautiously.

Lance bit his lip as he heard several Coeihns starting to laugh, snorting and chuckling at Keith's expense. "Um… we should go-"

"What did they say?" Keith inquired with an odd tone in his voice.

"Eh- they're just being jerks. Think you can't do it cause of your size or something," Dravla mutters, trying to shrug it off "Who's hungry? Wanna get lunch? I mean, you probably just had breakfast but-"

"Wait," Keith lifts his hand. "They think I can't do it?"

Lance feels a sense of dread, "...Oh no…"

"Uh well- yeah. Don't take it personally Keith. Parlogs are just hard to win over and you need to wrestle with them to earn their loyalty and-" Dravla stopped talking when a dark smirk pulled at Keith's lip.

"They think I can't do it, huh?" he stepped forward, hand on hips and eyes meaning business. He was taking this a challenge, which was always a bad thing when it came to Keith.

"Keith… Keith no," Lance pleads with him, "Just ignore them. Don't let them get to you. Look at that thing! It'll eat you!"

The smirk grew confident, side glancing at him with a playful glint. From how close they were, Lance could see the light outline of his face- the slight pull of his upper lip, and the fire behind his eyes, "I got this Lance,"

And well…

Um…

Lance couldn't think for a second.

He had felt a little skip to his heart, his mind went blank, and he suddenly just felt super hot- which was a problem because it was Keith that was making him feel that way and that shouldn't be a thing.

"Keith, come on. Be rational here. Tellru would kill me if anything happened to you two so lets just go and-" Dravla attempts

"I'm taking on that one," he points to one of the mean looking ones. His gestures startled the entire area, getting a few eye rolls and laugh from some of the Coeihns already on Parlogs.

"Wha- L-Lance! Can't you stop him?" Dravla demanded. Lance snapped out of his gaze and stammered,

"H-Huh? Oh uh- no. Nothing stops Keith. He's like an unmovable wall sometimes,"

"Hell yeah I am,"

"Oh... Oh great," Dravla threw his arms up.

Lance frowned, looking back at the Red Paladin, "...Are you seriously going to do this?" he paled

"Yes," Keith hopes over the fence with a small smirk.

Dravla tried to grab him to stop him but he was too fast, "Oohh. Oh no. Tellru is going to skin me alive," he whimpered. "Keith don't do this! That one's Greg! Greg hates everyone!"

"Greg?" Lance questioned.  
"The King named it… he's not the best at names." Dravla explains swiftly, biting at his nails anxiously, "...Tellru is going to kill me. Cut off my head and mount it above our fireplace,"

"No she isn't,"

"Yes. Yes she is- why are you going for the Greg? He is the most temperamental one!" Dravla cried in despair as Keith approached it slowly.

"Temperamental human for a temperamental Parlog," Lance mumbled. A second later, he could hear Keith grunt. "W-What just happened?"

"It headbutted him…" Dravla says as if he was ready to start pulling out a piece of paper and start writing his will. "H-He's getting up. He's fine. Walk it off, Keith!" he calls encouragingly.

Well, if there was no backing out of this, might as well try to be supportive, "Come on Keith! Don't you dare lose!" Lance called aimlessly towards him. Dravla did his best to explain everything that was happening. Keith was holding his own very well, but he definitely wasn't as strong as most Coeihns.

Even if he was able to get his arms around the Parlog, he didn't have the strength to wrestle is to the ground and flip it.

Keith could barely hold onto its horn long enough before it threw him off- how had Dravla managed to flip this whole thing?!

A few Coehins had come by to watch, many snickering and calling taunts to Keith. Most shut up from the dark look Dravla sent them. "Find a different way to get an upper hand Keith! Pure strength isn't going to work!"

Tossed to the floor for the fourth time, Keith glanced over his shoulder for a split second. Considerng Dravla's words, Keith motioned for the Parlog to charge at him. It took the bait and chased Ketih across the area, reading to plow him down.

At the last second Keith leapt up towards the fence, flipping onto the back of the Parlog and grabbing the reins that were placed on it's back.

Like a bull the Parlog started to run and buck, furious to knock him off.

'Bull rider~" Lance hummed when Dravla explained that. "What a texan boy," he snickered.

"Well whatever that is- it's working." Dravla sounded impressed. Many Coeihns had paused to come by, watching in awe as Keith clung to the top of the Parlog, even daring to lift and arm, like the entire thing was just some game to him.

"Yeehaw~" Lance cackled. "Go Keith!"

Unable to see anything that was happening other than a few rappid moving colors and blurs Lance could hear the crowd go silent- then a cheer.

"Did he do it?"

"He did indeed! Good job Keith!" Dravla cheered, "Thank goodness too… Let's not say anything about this to Tellru, okay?"

"My lips are sealed," Lance pretended to zip his lips.

"Hey, Lance!" Keith called to him, "Look who could do it after all,"

"Well aren't you proud of yourself," lance snorted as Keith clomped up to him. The parlog snorted a little,

"Yes, yes I am," Keith nods. "Here," he holds out his hand. Squinting his eyes to figure out what he was seeing, Lance hesitantly reached forward. Gripping his palm, he made a little noise when Keith pulled him up to the back of the parlog

Seated behind Keith, he wrapped his arms and legs around his waist in a panic, "Nope nope, let me down." He commands

"What's that? I uh- I can't hear you," Keith cackles, tapping the parlog with his heels to get it to start walking. Keith circled the pen like the champion he was, smirking at the previously mocking Coeihns as he passed.

"Keith!" Lance yelled, "I know you heard me! Keith!'

"Admit it: it was cool," Keith insists.  
"It was insane,"

"It was cool,"

"Insane,"

"Cool,"

"Insane!"

"Say it is cool or I won't let you down," Keith smirks mischievously.

"Ooh, you are cruel," Lance grumbled, unable to even tell how far up they were. Probably not that far but far enough for him not to dare jumping off. "..." he pursed his lips, refusing to say anything. His pride hit him too hard, so he distracted his thoughts with the cheering crowd around them.

A crowd...

He felt a sudden urge.

"Fine- it was cool," pausing for only a moment, Lance leaned forward and kissed Keith's cheek. Delicate, barely even a peck, Lance pulled away before he could respond.

Keith goes quiet for a second, his hand coming up to rub his cheek in surprise.

"Wha-"

"Whoop whoop!" Dravla was giving them a thumbs up. "Give him another Lance!"

"Dravla!" Keith snapped at him, freezing when Lance planted another kiss on his cheek- this one a little longer than the last one. The crowd erupted into another cheer.

Keith's cheeks were warm below Lance's lips. It was a nice sensation.

"...What are you doing?" Keith asks softly.

"I kissed you,"

"Obviously. Why?"

"Might as well…" Lance whispered, "To keep them from bugging us later,"

He had a point.

A point that was making Keith's mind go fuzzy as he twisted his body to kiss Lance straight on the mouth. He did win, after all, he kind of deserved this.

Like white noise, the crowd was fading into the background, forgetten the moment lips slippped over lips.

The same happened an hour later when they kissed in a Cafe before having lunch. Many of the Coeihns were staring at them then too. So they kissed and spent the rest of the lunch in peace.

Then they went to the park, and kissed.

Then to a few shops, and kissed within every single one.

Then on the street.

Keith was loosing track of the amount of kisses- they just did it all the time now. Even the next day, when they were babysitting Ruru again- they kissed whenever the moment represented itself.

Without even realizing it, it had become normal to kiss. With everyone turning to them and expecting it they had forced a habit of sharing a small kiss whenever they were within a crowd. Hours flew by, kisses were shared- it was as natural as breathing to them. Small pecks on the lips or cheek- hands intertwining with such ease that one would think their bone structures were made for each other.

Forget about being flustered about hugs- they were making out on a daily basis now! It was crushing to have Lance under his fingertips and his tongue in his mouth. And his hands- they were so warm whenever they hugged him, touched him.

All innocent of course, but the tingling sensation from them was sometimes too much to bare- yet he found himself craving it the moment it left.

Keith had never realized how starved he was for physical contact before now. Touches, kisses, cuddling, and little whispers into the night- they sent an endless chill up his spin that made him want to smile.

He wasn't even sure what to call this relationship they stumbled into but it was gentle and warm. Of course they still poked fun at each other- but neither said a word if Lance suddenly wrapped his arm around Keith's waist. Keith would do the same. It was just what they did.

Both of them were only ever hesitated in accepting these moments when the kisses would get deeper when they were alone.

No one was there to watch them- they had nothing to fake or prove… it was just them.

So why were they doing this? What brought them together? Sometimes they didn't even say a word they just turned to each other, leaned in, and kissed.

Keith couldn't ever bring himself to ask through their makeout sessions- too afraid to disturb this routine. It wasn't like Lance said anything about it either.

They would just kiss and pull away after a while.

Keith never normally pushed for conversation- except one time to inquire, "Were you biting at your lips today?" There was this slight trace of iron to the taste. Keith's brain isn't functioning when Lance swipes his own tongue over his bottom lip,

"Yeah,"

"I can tell," Keith whispers. The iron was already started to melt with Lance's natural taste- it was something Keith couldn't describe other than that he liked it. "You bit your lower lip a lot-" he nibbled on it to show his point.

If Lance wasn't already shaking then he was now, "Oh…" not to say Keith was the best kisser- he was actually pretty awkward about it, but there was progress. Slowly, he was starting to get better- grow bolder.

To Lance, It was almost uncanny to watch and experience and he couldn't ever tell how any kiss was going to play out because of it.

All in all- everything was the same yet completely different.

...if that made sense.

They talked the same, acted the same- they just kissed a lot now. Was that weird? They should talk about this, right? This wasn't normal, and honestly, they were just avoiding the conversation.

And Keith… Keith liked this. He liked this thing, whatever it was, that Lance and him had. The more time passed however the more a fear began to grow in his gut; would it end when the got back to the team?

They held hands because Lance couldn't navigate his way and felt insecure about his surroundings.

They kissed because it was what the Coeihns expected of them.

They talked because when tellru and her family weren't around they were the only ones to understand each other.

When they went back to the team, all these reasons would disappear… this relationship that Keith had come to cherish would disappear

What was he supposed to do then?

A few days into this little routine, Keith approached Lance before bed, "Lance?"  
"Yeah?" he asked, fluffing his pullow.

"Can we talk?"

"About what?" Lance plopped down, pulling the covers up to his chin. Shifting his weight a little, Keith slowly slipped under them with him, "I just um…" he couldn't bring himself to ask striaght out what the hell they were doing, so he danced around it. "Can you see me?" Keith asked quietly between the pillows, staring into Lance's clouded gaze.

"Kind of… you are really blurry. The colors aren't very clear either… I can see your eyes though. They stick out. A nice periwinkle kind of color,"

Keith shifted a little, "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three I think," Lance scoots a little closer till they have only a few i he's between each other, "Yeah, three,"

"Can you actually see them or just blobs?"

"Blobs. Three blobs. If you held up a crayon or something I probably would have counted that as a finger too," he admits. "Oh.. oh yeah, Keith. Tellru wants to know if we want to go to Ruru's performance thing. The thing with the dress. You interested?"  
'Like we have anything better to do… She also looks super cute in that dress,"

"I would agree if I knew what the dress is- but a certain someone is terrible at describing things in detail," Lance pokes his nose.

"I told you the color,'

"There are so many different kinds of orange dresses out there Keith. That doesn't help me picture it at all," Lance huffs. "Ruru desrcibes things better than you and she doesn't even know 50% of our language,"

"She's smart,"

"She is… she also really likes you," Lance suddenly grinned,

"She likes you too,' Keith smirks.

"Well yeah, but you are totally her favorite. She never wants piggyback rides from me, just you,"

"That is because I can actually run around with her and not trip on a rock or something because I can't see it,"

"Well yeah but like, you are really good with kids. Really good," Lance smiles at him, "You ever think of having some when you got older? You would be a good dad… probably,"

"Probably," Keith snorts and folds his arms behind his head, "I never really thought about it. I guess I can see it. Not a whole bunch. Maybe one or two. A boy and a girl,"

"Yeah?

"A little family would be enough for me. I wouldn't complain for a big one- but even just having one other person in it would be- it would be great,"

Lance chuckles, "Well I mean, you already have a big family dude,"

Keith turned to him with a puzzled look, "Huh?"

"The team," lance grinned, "You got us. I mean, I don't think any of us could really be like a parent except for shiro- he is like a space dad. Allies could be a space mom. Or space sis? Coran is totally our uncle,"

Keith coughs in his own spit, busting into a fit of laughter, "Wha- you think of all us as family? I had no idea,"

"Of course were family Keith, all of us think so. I thought you did too- I should have realized a solo emo like you wouldn't see the signs," he flicked his finger to Keith's forehead, "Like hunk; hunk is the baby. I know he is the biggest guy, and he can totally kick ass when needed, but he is definitely the baby brother. Pidge could also be considered the baby, but more like a toddler? The toddlers that have just learned how to walk and you are amazed cause they are so smart but they cause a whole lot of trouble all the time,"

Keith is snickering into his hand listening with a smile, "What does that make me then?"

"The favored older child,"

"Favored?"

"Shiro totally does favorites with you," Lance waved it off, "Your the eldest son that will lead the business one day."

Keith hummed not really realizing that, "And you? What are you?"

"To Shiro in the middle child- the poor forgotten middle child," he sniffed dramatically, "But to Hunk I'm totally his brother in crime. I guess to Pidge I'd be an older brother. Definitely not one she listens to, but still an older brother,"

"And what about to me?"

Lance lowered his hand, turning to Keith with wide eyes. When he didn't say anything Keith repeated, "What family member are you to me?

Lance wasn't going to say his brother. That felt wrong. The question felt so heavy, as if something important was residing with this single answer. The pressure of it was too great for Lance to decide on his own.

In the end, his says, "I'll be whatever you want me to be, Keith,"

Keith doesn't respond immediately, slowly mumbling. "Just.. be you,"

"I can do that," His eyes locked on a stray hair running across Keith's face. Unable to stare at it any longer without it bother him he extended out his hand and brushed it from Keith's face. "I can see your nose when I'm this close…"

"Yeah?" They are whispering. With their proximity it felt like too much to talk normally within this silence.

"I can see your hair. Your forehead… cheeks. Chin." A trembling finger slides along Keith's lower lip, "And these."

Keith surged forward before he knows what he is doing, catching Lance's lips.

The kiss is deep and amazingly raw to the touch. How was this even possible?

Pulling away just to suck in a breath, Lance is tilting his head again. "Keith…" he wants to kiss him again. A second time, a third time- he doesn't want to ever stop. So he doesn't and leans in for another.

"No ones…" Keith hummed a little into the second kiss, gasping a little to say, "No one is watching us," he doesn't know why he points that out. But it's true.

"No one is," Lance agreed, struggling to speak through this make out session, "So what are… are we doing?"

Keith fells like crumbling into pieces at the sensation of his lower lip being sucked between the blue paladin's teeth. "I dunno…"

Their tongue collide and they don't speak for a few more minutes. But Keith has to know.

"Lance," he tears apart from him, visibly trembling at the pop sound that echoed when their lips slipped apart. "What is this? Why are we doing this?" He huffed "What am I-"

 _What am I to you?_

Fear bubbled in his stomach at the thought of Lance's answer

He had never felt so uncompossed before, unable to even look Lance in the eyes for too long. This cocky paladin seemed to bring out so many different sides to him that he didn't realize he had.

"I'm not sure..." Lance's gaze seemed to slide over him, murky but set. Like he had read his mind, Lance answer's Keith's silent question, "I'm still trying to figure out what you are to me, Keith. It's something that I just can't describe no matter how much I think about it,"

He nods a little, quietly agreeing. Then he asks, his voice wavering with dread, "Should we stop?" stop the banter- stop the kissing, the holding, the small conversations into the middle of the night… go back to how they couldn't stand to be in the same room together.

Neither of them wanted that.

Keith was positive he could never just go back to that by just saying they would anyway, even if he was given time. But if this was getting uncomfortable for Lance…

"No," Lance pauses, "I don't… mind it. Unless you do,"

"I don't,"

"Then we don't stop," he concludes, "I don't know what we do from here but- I like this." he lifts his hands, cupping Keith's cheeks and bring his face a little closer, "I like… this thing with you,"

Keith swallows, his tongue thick, "Me too,"

Lance pats his knees in a little beat, timid and unsure, "I'd- I want to kiss you right now, if that is okay,"

"Do you really even need to ask at this point?" a shudder racked Keith's body.

"Yeah…" he tugs him forward. When their lips touch, neither know what to think when a new sense of belonging wash over them.

For now, this was enough. Even if they weren't sure what to call this, they could figure it out. They had time.

* * *

 **Oh my gosh. I'm so tired. My brain- I can't- This chapter. I'm writing this chapter so late and I just can't even focus so I'm sorry if this chapter sucks! But ughhhh exhaustion. I'm going to pass out now.**


	15. Festival

**_WARNING: The beginning part of this chapter has some smut like quiatlities to it. By this I mean a wet dream so... yeah... XD You've been warned. If you wish to skip go straight the next line cut._**

* * *

 _A light was filtering in through long drapes, illuminating the vast space. Keith wasn't sure how he had found himself there, lost within this sea of white._

 _When he called out, no one answered immediately. By his fourth try his calls were finally answered by two hands, soft and gentle, wrapping around his waist._

" _Keith,"_

 _Startled, he shot into action gripping the stranger's wrists. Lifting them high above their heads, he turned them both and slammed the other into the wall behind them._

 _Pinned, this other being could only chuckle, their voice a soft a silk. Catching Keith's gaze with clear blue eyes, they say, "Playing rough?"_

 _Recognizing sound and finally able to focus on the face in front of him, his grip faltered, "Lance?" letting his wrists fall back to hs side, Keith stepped back. "What are you doing here? Where are we?"_

 _Lance was in front him, his smile warm and alluring. He was casually leaning against the wall and motioning for Keith to come closer with a long and slender finger. By his will or something else, Keith stepped forward._

 _Coming into arm's reach Lance wasted no time in reaching out, ghosting his hands along Keith's tanned skin. The red paladin froze, eyes growing wide as his chin was tilted upward until their lips were pressed together._

 _With a resounding giggle, Lance pulled back to embrace Keith. Pressing forward until their chests bumped together, heat emanating between the two of them. Lance hummed affectionately. "Hello," he cooed. Keith could only focus on the widespread of caramel skin presented before him._

 _Lance was… shirtless?_

 _Broad muscles, clear of bruises and injuries- just as Lance should be, were glistening. Perky nipples pressed and brushing against Keith's own slowly hardening ones- oh god he was shirtless too._

 _When had that happened?_

 _Too overwhelming to really question the how's and why's of how this was happening, he swallowed._

 _"_ _L-Lance?" he gasped, arching his back when the sly blue paladin ground into him. "W-Wait-" he had to pull himself together, "What's happening?" he whispered frantically._

 _Lance lifted his hand and kissed it, holding it there to the point where Keith felt that he was worshipping it. "Keith~" a toothy grin from Lance was followed by his tongue sticking out and swiping over his bottom lip- hungry._

 _Keith couldn't move. Couldn't think. Everything felt too… surreal._

 _"I know how you feel about me," Lance tilts his head to kiss him. Without much of a fight, Keith allows this. He allows Lance to lead him, turn him, then press him into the wall and pin him there- kissing and touching every inch of him. "Oh, Keith. Keith~" he groaned, beautiful and heavy. Arching until he dropped to his knees he peeked up at him, eyes half-lidded but clear. These were scarless eyes that could see him._

 _"_ _You're eyes…" he says._

 _Lance cuts him off, "Please, Keith~"_

 _After a heavy gulp, his tongue thick, he asked, "W-what?"_

 _Lance was kissing his knees, running teasing fingers up his thighs. He was reaching for the buckle to Keith's pants. "I need you,"_

 _With a sharp inhale, Keith's knees almost buckled, "Y-You- what?"_

 _Thumbing at the buckle, it popped open. Keith cried out when a pleasure shot up his spine._

 _Suddenly feeling like he was falling, his body moved in the opposite direction and he shot up._

* * *

With a startled yell, Keith sat up in his bed. His chest was heaving, his skin sticky with sweat.

He was in the apartment, seated on the bed with light barely filtering through the window with the rising sun.

A dream.

A very, very strange dream.

He lifted the covers to look down at his legs, eyeing a very… compromising sight between them. A sight that had been caused through some sick wet dream of Lance!?

"Keith?" The very boy that caused this was half awake and rolling over to tilt his head in his direction. "What…?" he yawned, sounding too exhausted to say much, "You okay?"

"F-Fine," Keith stammered. There were always cons and pros to everything that happened, but this was definitely the one and only Pro's to Lance being blind- he could play this off without him ever realizing.

"Just- had a weird dream," Keith says cautiously.

'Oh…" Lance nods hazily, "Bad one? Good one?" with a gentle caress, one too caring for Keith not to adore it, he reached out and brushed the side of Keith's face to check on him.

Leaning into the touch, he sighs, "W-Weird one,"

Lance nods knowingly, sleep already beginning to take hold of him again. Curling his fingers between a strand of Keith's hair and curling it he retracted his arm, "Alrighty… well, nighty night," his head hit the pillow and he was out.

Taking a few cautious seconds to assure that Lance was back asleep, Keith slowly slipped from the covers.

Feeling humiliated as he slipped out of the bed he made his way across the room and into the bathroom. Stepping in he closed the door and locked it. Coeihns didn't have things like bathtubs or showers so this bathroom only had a toilet and sink- no cold showers for him.

Not sure what he was going to do about this, Keith thought it best to just wait it out.

He had been in there for a whole hour, his body shivering against the cold of the marble room.

It wasn't going away….

He wasn't going to- he couldn't relieve himself from it.

That would just say that he… that a dream from Lance caused him to get hard and then- ejaculate…

He couldn't even think it.

He shouldn't think about it.

Oh but he was. The thoughts wouldn't end- tormenting him with each seductive smile and beautiful bat of full eyelashes.

" _Keith~"_

He could still hear the echoes of the dream in his ears.

Sliding to the floor, Keith covered his mouth with his hand, biting into this thumb a little to prevent a noise from escaping out of his lips. What was he doing?

How could he be thinking about this?

With a torn approach on what to do next, Keith's hand slowly sunk downward. Moving hesitantly between his legs, he rubbed at his crotch delicately. He inwardly groaned, incapable of stopping himself from imagining that it was Lance's hand. Lance's fingers.

How would it feel if it was him instead?

Surely it couldn't be that big of a difference… or maybe it was.

"...Ah…L-Lance..." Keith let out a long breath his was holding, pressing a little more force into the motion of his hand. It felt good...

It felt-

A knock came from the door.

"Hey, Keith?" It was Lance.

The world froze, every ounce of blood in Keith's body turning cold. Oh god did he… had he heard-?

"W…. What?" his voice barely reached above a whisper.

Lance was yawning, "Oh, I thought I heard you call my name. I was just getting some breakfast. Want some?"

"S-Sure. Yeah, that sounds great," he stammered quickly, desperate to get Lance away from the door and out of hearing distance.

"Coolio~" there was a receding shuffle of feet and then silence. Faintly he could hear the sound of Lance blindly maneuvering his way through the kitchen, humming to himself.

Well…

That terror of a moment sure did the trick of getting him to calm down. So there was a plus in that, he supposed.

Pretending to finish up going to the bathroom, he flushed the toilet and washed his hands.

When he stepped out, Lance was up and moving around the room. "Morning," he says to Keith.

Keith swallows thickly, his voice quiet, "Morning," he rasps.

"I'm making breakfast, "Lance told him, pulling out some containers. Keith nodded, despite knowing Lance couldn't see him and moved to sit at the table.

Steadying himself with the chair, he took a few second to evaluate the situation.

He had a wet dream about Lance.

Lance was oblivious to this fact, thank the stars.

Lance was here and they had shared a bed last night. They would continue to most likely be sharing a bed, as it was a comfort to both of them and reassurance that they could sleep in peace.

But… say this was to happen again? What if Lance noticed then?

What in the world would Keith possibly say then?

All in all, the day was starting out pretty weird.

And he had even managed to learn something about himself in the process.

It was hard to accept at first and he refused to believe it for a while, but at some point, he finally had to take a breath and admit it: Keith was very, _very_ attracted to Lance. The front of Lance, the back of Lance- everything that made Lance who he was.

Keith had never been sexually attracted to anything before. Those kinds of things just hadn't interested him. So what was so different about Lance other than him being, well, Lance?

At first glance this loud-mouthed pilot often seemed a little lanky- not much muscle to be seen. Take off that jacket he always wore though and you would see a more well-defined body than most expected. Keith used to that.

He didn't often get to see Lance's back without that jacket, however. It was strong, lined with tight muscles that coiled and uncoiled with each movement, swinging elegantly all the way down to smooth hips.

Keith wanted to tear his hair out from the site, finding he's been biting his nails the more and more he stared. His heart pounded heavily in his chest every time the other simply moved.

He was grateful Lance wasn't able to see him in the multiple moments he suddenly turned around to ask Keith a question- if he wasn't, he would have been caught long ago.

"Hey, want some juice?" Lance was muddling around shirtless in the kitchen area.

Keith was gawking at him from the table, "...Sure,"

Lance went to the small fridge like container they'd had and bent over it. His back curved and his ass lifted- sweet Kerberos.

Keith covered his mouth and bit his thumb to stop the longing sigh that managed its way to his throat. What was happening right now?

Ever since their little confession or whatever it was two nights ago Keith was just- he was drawn to Lance's form. Both awake and asleep, apparently.

The urges to touch him, to stare at him, these feelings were just growing. It was driving him insane and warming his belly in this odd way.

"Sleep well?" Lance inquired when he stepped back to the table, pausing to place a quiet kiss on the top of Keith's head. "What was that weird dream you mentioned?"

Keith lowered his gaze when the blood pooled to his ears, enjoying Lance's gentle and subtle touches in all their forms "Um… I can't really remember," he lies, "It was just strange,"

"I once dreamed I was a squirrel,' Lance tells him.

'..." Keith smirks a little, "And how did that work?"

"I was their King," he grins.

"Must have been a poorly structured society,"

Lance gasps dramatically, "You wound me. I was a great ruler! Lead us to the great acorn salvation."

"Sounds very impressive,"

"To them, it was," Lance munches down on his food without another word. After a few seconds, he asks, "What was your weirdest dream?"

Keith takes a second to think about that, "I once dreamed of a big jellyfish taking over the world,"

"Did you rise to stop it?" Lance guessed, smiling

"No- the Jellyfish and I were allies or something. I don't remember it fully- I think we were childhood friends or something."

"Keith Kogane besties an evil jellyfish. Sounds legit,"

"Shut up," Keith nudges his foot under the table.

30 minutes later, like usual, Tellru arrived. She was accompanied by Dravla however, both dressed in matching outfits.

"Hello~!" Dravla grins, pleased with something, "Are you two ready to go out?"

"Uh- yeah. Didn't think you would both come see us this morning," Lance puts on his jacket.

"Of course we would both come get you- now come on, hurry up! We have so much to do today!" Dravla is shuffling them out the door, down the hall, and down the steps, before they could say anything else.

"What about Ruru?"

"She is at her swimming lesson," Tellru explains as they move out into the buzzling streets.

"There a lot more people out today," Lance can hear them crowding around them, "What is going on?"

"It is a festival for Equivalents," Tellru frowns and reaches for Lance, smoothing out his crazy hair to make him look nice.

"Festival?"

"It is a yearly holiday to celebrate the special person in your life. It allows you to spend the day with them and show just how much you care for them,"

"Is that why you two are wearing matching outfits?" Keith motions to them. They grin and link arms.

"So like… today is one big date night?" Lance smiles

"A date?" Dravla asked

"Going out with your-uh, equivalent and spending the day with them. Just the two of you," Lance explains

"Ooh! Then yes!"

"That sounds cool. What kind of things do you have at this festival?" Lance asked, curious

"Large feasts, festive games, some enjoy dancing and singing," Dravla listed

"I often enjoy spending the day going up to the flower gardens with Dravla." Tellru tells them, "Or going to listen to the public singers near our house."

"Wait…" Keith stops, "Why are we going with you?"

"...It's the Equivalent festival," Dravla tells him.

"We have to go too?"

Tellru nods, "Well, as citizens it would be best for you to attend. Good for your public image,"

"Why would we care about our public image?" Keith frowns and folds his arm

The face Tellru gave them was blank, her eyebrow twitching with slight annoyance, "Why do I bother to explain- you never seem to understand," she sighed, "You are still in the red Keith. Many still look to you and wish to throw you in some cell- others want Lance dead. The better reputation you have, the less likely that will happen,"

Lance nods a little, "She has a point…." he cleared his throat, "I mean, we spend every second together anyway."

"None of those were dates," Keith says slowly, cautiously. Scanning Lance's face for his next expression he was surprised to see his lips form a thin line and his cheeks turn red

"Well, I guess there is a first time for everything… wanna go on a date?"

Speechless, Keith fumbled. Stammering with his words he closed his mouth. With sweaty palms, he rubbed them against his pants and nodded.

"..." He then slapped himself, when Lance asked with squinty eyes, "Did… did you just nod? Cause I can't really fully tell yet."

"S-Sorry. Yeah, I did...let's go on a date,"

Lance smiles, relieved. Reaching out he took Keith's hand and squeezed it, "Awesome,"

"Was that so hard?" Tellru sighs at them, "Honestly, the stuff I do to help you two. The stress of it all."

Lance flinched a little, "Oh. S-sorry Tellru. We do appreciate your help, really. I would never have gotten through that arena without you. You didn't have to help us but you did,"

There was a pause from Keith, "Why did you help us?" He inquired, "Originally you didn't need to bother with us- you could have just played us off as spies like everyone else did,"

Tellru was hesitant.

"I- well, I wasn't quite sure of that either at first. It has always been my job to speak to the prisoners- but you were different from all the other ones I had seen. You didn't belong in a cell like the lowlifes that have attacked our city. And Lance was-" she cut herself off.

"What about me?" he inquires.

There is a pain in Tellru's voice, "You reminded me of someone. My best friend… he passed away a few years ago. I suppose I just did not wish to see the same happen to you."

"Tellru…"

"That is my initial reason for helping you. Now I have truly grown to care for the both of you. I feel as protective of you as I do with Ruru,"

"So we are like your own kids?" Lance was touched

She laughs, sweet and loving, "Yes,"

Lance flung himself at her, hugging her, "Aww! Space Mom!"

"Does that make me space dad?" Dravla asks.

"Hell yeah it does," Lance gives him a thumbs up.

Dravla gasps and looked at Keith, who flinched at his locking gaze, "Space son!" he grips Keith below the armpits and lifts him up, throwing him into the air. Keith yells and kicks his legs out in surprise, landing back into Dravla's arms.

Swinging Keith around, cradling him like an infant, Dravla perks up, "Ooh! I know what we can do! You and I shall fetch the traditional ties, Keith!"

"What?" He questioned, "Put me down," he smacks at Dravla's face a little. Placing him back on the floor, Dravla ruffles his hair.

"The Traditional ties. All equivalents get them during the festival,"

"Splendid idea, Dravla. I shall get Lance ready and you get Keith. Be sure to pick out something nice," she kisses his cheek, "We shall wait for you by the square's fountain,"

"Come along Keith!" Dravla grinned. Grabbing his arm he begins to drag away the red paladin. Looking back over his shoulder Keith tries to argue but they are lost in the crowd before he can.

"...Okay, wait, what's happening?' Lance asked her. She chuckles and hooks her arm with his.

"This way Lance, we are going to go get you a nice new outfit,"

"I love new outfits," he smiles, following her with a little skip to his step. "So… what are we doing today?"

"I know what Dravla and I are doing today, but we both assumed you had no idea what to do today so we were planning on showing you around first then letting you both go off on your own for a while. Let you have some privacy," she says with a subtle smirk.

"Ah… well- that would be nice," Lance says slowly.

"Really? Are you actually open with this? How surprising," she mused.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you always seemed to insist there was nothing between Keith and you before- I'm just surprised at your sudden change of heart,"

Lance lowered his gaze and shrugs a bit when they enter a store, "It's different now…"

"Different?"

When she leans into him playfully he nudges her away, "It's just different. We still aren't equivalents but maybe… m-maybe we're slowly getting there?" he sounds a little unsure. "Things like this takes time in my world,"

"I see," Tellru sounds pleased regardless, "Well, I will never rush you. I actually enjoy watching the two of you. You are both sweet to each other,"

"Are we?"

"Very."

"Oh," he smiles into his hand, "Well, Dravla and you are like- the best couple I've seen too."

"Couple?"

"Uh- we call people couples in our world. They are like equivalents?" he shrugs.

"I see, thank you, then." moving through the stores, they shopped for who knows how long before they stepped out, Lance dressed in a very soft and dazzling new set of clothes.

Feeling like he had just gone shopping with his Mom back at Earth, Lance laughed, "So um- Tellru?"

"Hmm?"

"So how did you and Dravla get together?" Lance was trying to be understanding of the culture here, "Did he uh- win you as a pure or something?"

"No," she says, "I won him." from her tone he knew she was grinning from ear to ear. "While no one knew it since his armor often hides his smell, he was one of the only champions who was still pure. I had found out this information through my time as a translator." she was recalling the time fondly, "I had known him for a while, at least five years due to both of us aiding the King. We talked quite often and I couldn't help but fall for him. Being a champion, however, he wasn't allowed to participate in the matches to win himself a pure."

'Then how do champions find equivalents?"

"They have to be chosen and won- of course, most champions, if they do not want to be won, will make sure to fight to the death before they let that person win them."

Lance made a noise of disgust with Tellru agreed with, "Yes, not the most romantic way to find your equivalent…"

"Dravla- so he made sure to never lose if someone challenged to win him as a pure," Lance concludes.

"Yes. He had never expected me to step forward and challenge him, and I never imagined myself to actually go into the arena to get myself an Equivalent. I had honestly never wanted one before then but… Oh well, Dravla was different," she says that in a tone that has Lance blushing, especially since it was the same words he had used earlier.

"So I entered the arena. He was so surprised to see that it was me he was fighting at the end of it all. He almost refused to fight me, saying he didn't want to hurt me. I socked him one right in the jaw for not taking it seriously and told him I wanted to win him fair and square. The battle lasted for two hours."

"I thought he said the longer he fights with someone the more chance he has of winning since he can usually begin to predict their movements?"

"That is true… but I've always been the better fighter." she says slyly. "I beat him fair and square and he became mine. And he- well he laughed at the end of it. Told me he thought he'd never get the chance to be with me. I carried him out of the ring with my head held high!" she pumped her fist in victory.

Lance had to cover his mouth and snort at the idea of Tellru carrying a flustered Dravla out bridal style. "I'm glad you two got to be with each other in the end,"

"Yes… though Rashra was definitely a sore loser about it," she grumbled.

"Rashra?"

"He tried before me. He wished to win Dravla as his equivalent too. He could never beat Dravla, who refused to lose against him." Tellru says with a dark tone "It always angered me whenever he tried- perhaps that is why he is so grumpy lately? He was once again denied an equivalent because of Dravla losing the final challenge. He shouldn't really blame you or him since _no one_ wants to be his equivalent. He doesn't respect others in any way- which is one of the largest parts of being an equivalent. If you cannot respect someone then you don't truly love them. Keith and you respect each other- yes?"

"Well- we didn't always,"

"You do now, though, I can see that. You trust Keith and Keith trusts you- anyone can see that by the way you two look at each other."

Twiddling his thumbs, Lance wasn't sure he was ready to ask what was on his mind, "Keith uh- he stares at me?"

"All the time,"

Lance laughed till he realized Tellru was being serious and cut himself off, "...Really?"

"He is often entranced by your presence," she nods, "Never takes his eyes off of you for too long. Smiles at you a lot when you don't realize he is looking- I am positive he adores you,"

Wanting to cover his reddening ears, Lance forces a laugh, "Okayyy. Okay that's enough,"

"He gets pouty when you don't hold his hand. He looks so proud when he is wearing matching outfits with you. When you laugh he just lights up!"

"..."

"And your back," she chuckles.

"My back?

"It only started recently, but I think he finds your back attractive,"

Lance wasn't sure he understood that, "Why my back?"

"I'm not Keith, I don't know the answer to that," she says, "But I'm positive it is a fact,"

Lance covered his ears this time, "Tellru," he pleads with her in a quiet voice.

"It is a good thing," she laughs, patting his shoulders, "Do not feel embarrassed by it,"

"T-Too late for that. You don't understand before we came here Keith and I didn't get along. We hated each other!"

"I'm sure that isn't true,"

"I- maybe? We were rivals. At least, I thought we were. We never said anything nice to each other except when we just barely avoided the brink of death."

"What difference does that make now?" she inquires, "At one point you disliked him, and obviously right now you don't feel the same. People grow and feelings change. Don't feel that you have to explain yourself for that or question why it happened. It just happens. If you feel happy that Keith and you care for each other now, then be happy, Lance." When she rose from her feet, Lance could suddenly hear Dravla in the distance, "They have returned,"

Feeling self-conscious, Lance jumped to his feet and dusted off his knees and shoulders. "Do I look okay?" he whispered to Tellru

"You look fantastic," she assured then gushed and ran forward, "You look wonderful, treasure!" she embraced Dravla, admiring his elegant clothes. With how important this day was, many Coeihns tended to dress to impress.

"I hoped you would like this. I apologize for taking so long- Keith was difficult,"

"All the clothes you choose were weird!" Keith barked. Lance could hardly see him, only knowing for sure that he was wearing red. No surprise there.

Lance squints through the blurry form in front of him. "I can't really-"

"You don't need to see," Keith says curtly. The embarrassment in his tone is something Lance cannot just ignore

"Well now I want to see," he takes a step, then another, moving into Keith's personal bubble. Keith holds up his hands to hold him back, "No it's- I look ridiculous." he mutters.

"You do not," Dravla huffs, "It took forever to pick out that outfit. Doesn't he look nice, Tellru?" he asked her.

"Of course he does," she praises, "I don't see why you are upset about this Keith."

"This was the least revealing one he picked!" Keith snapped.

 _Revealing,_ was a very interesting word choice to Lance's ears. "I want to see this outfit please," he grabs Keith's wrists, trying to move his hand out of the way.

"No, Lance," he huffs.

"What's the problem? You showing your stomach off or something? Are your pants a little too short- oh my gosh are you wearing booty shorts?"

" _No,"_ he growls, "I- this outfit isn't that bad. The back is just stupid- why are you so insistent on seeing?!" he smacked Lance's hand away for the 5th time that day.

"I want to see you," Lance really had no other reason other than that. He urge to just see what Keith was wearing was too big.

"Come on Keith, show him," Tellru and Dravla call out teasingly. He glares at them, reluctantly lowering his hands.

"Fine…"

Lance doesn't hesitant to reach out and touch the shirt with his hands. Admiring the soft material he leaned a little closer when his fingers grazed something sticking to the v-line of the shirt, "Is this a bow?" He asks

"It's part of the shirt," Keith whispered heatedly.

He grips the bottom of the bow, running his palm over it, "Like my own little gift…" Lance mumbles under his breath

"W-what?" Keith stammered

"Nothing," he retracts his hand and clears his throat, "It's nice. You look nice,"

Keith nods solemnly, "You too."

"Thanks,"

The rest of the day they spent traveling around town. Tellru and Dravla gave them a map and marked where most activities were, but it didn't take long for them to head off and do their own thing.

"So um- what would you like to do?" Lance inquired. Keith was still staring at the map, his gaze glancing at Lance from time to time. What were they suppose to say right now?

This was a date of sorts, right? So what did people normally do on dates?

Keith had never been on a date before.

Not sure if he could mess this day up or not, he awkwardly pointed out the entertainers down south of where they were. Lance had enjoyed the dancing and singing in the square a few days ago, so he might enjoy that too.

Lance thankfully did, even if he couldn't see most of it. Keith tried his best to explain, taking his time to try and explain the area in detail. He had never been good at details when discussing things, but hopefully, Lance would be able to get enough from him.

All in all, they really didn't do much other than walk around and just visit everything Tellru and Dravla had marked. Neither were hungry- but they did stop to enjoy the view when they got to the upper levels of the kingdom.

"You enjoying the date?" Lance asked quietly.

"Course I am…. Did you really have to ask?"

"I can't really tell if you are-"

"I'm enjoying it,"

"Oh… good," Lance swings their hands a little, "Good,"

Curious, Keith asks, "Why wouldn't I enjoy it?"

"I dunno… It is just really crowded today so I wasn't sure,"

"A crowd doesn't decide if I enjoy something or not,"

"A crowd tends to stare- and while I can't see them, you can." Lance says. Keith supposed he had a point, but he hadn't really been paying attention to them all day.

"I haven't noticed them."

"Really?…" he smirks a little, "Anyone staring at you?" The promise Lance had made- the shared vow to kiss Keith whenever he spoke those words, echoed in the back of their minds.

Keith couldn't believe the shivers that sentence sent down his spine. Daring a look up at Lance, he swallows thickly, "Probably,"

Sharing a side kiss, they sigh sweetly. "I really do like the bow," Lance whispers against his lips.

Keith swallows, "I'll… keep that in mind,"

Taking a second to breath, he stopped to step into Lance's arms. Lance welcomed him without hesitation, his arms slinking around Keith's hips and giving them a tug. Pressed together, they tilted their heads and kissed once more.

Lance chuckled to himself half way through, nipping at Keith's bottom lip. Humming a bit, Keith peeked at him.

"What?" he inquires.

"I just- you gotta be honest with me, Keith." keeping his eyes closed, he asks, "Have you even been on a date before?"

Keith was puzzled, "I thought we were on a date,"

"W-Well yeah, but have you ever been on one before this?" he hooks his arms together to hold Keith in place.

Not planning on stepping away anytime soon, Keith lowered head, burying it into Lance's shoulder, "I… no. I've never dated anyone before, Lance," he announces cautiously,

"I'm your first kiss and your first date?" he gasps in awe, "I'm hitting the jackpot here,"

Keith snaps his head up to attention, smacking Lance in the shoulder, "What do you mean _jackpot?"_ he yelled, red in the face.

Lance laughs, "Obviously I mean you're the jackpot- I get all your firsts." opening his eyes, he smiles coyly at the red paladin in his arm,

Keith scowled heavily, pissed off. He wasn't sure why either. "You've already gone on dates and kissed others," he tells him, "There are no _firsts,_ for you in this. That isn't fair,"

"That isn't fully true. I've never gone on a date with someone in space before. Or on another planet. I've never shared a bed with someone other than family before either. I've never been considered an Equivalent to someone either..." Lance rattles off a few things, his smile never once faltering. When had he become so sure about all of this? About Keith?

He couldn't recall.

Lance was positive it was a little late to be embarrassed by this. They had already made out more times than he could count and should he even mention the spooning every night? Though they don't go to bed spooning, they usually woke up that way. Lance had just always been a snuggler.

Keith starts messing with the collar of his shirt a little, "Shut up… I don't know how these dates are supposed to work- okay?"

"It's not rocket science. You go somewhere, you talk… you kiss and hug. There really isn't a rule or guidebook to it- you just go with the flow. I mean-" he clears his throat a little, "We do that enough anyway…"

Keith pinches him. Yelping, Lance tugs on him a little.

"That hurts!"

Keith pinched him a few more times. Turning and spinning in a few circles, Lance laughed and leaned into Keith once more. Sharing one more kiss, one that was longer and filled with something more, they hold each other close.

"Okay, _Equivalent,_ where to now?" Lance cooed affectionately when they pulled apart

Keith smirks a little at him, "I dunno- there aren't many places left to go. We could go see those flowers that Dravla and Tellru mentioned,"

"Romantic- let's do it,"

* * *

 **0000-0000**

When they got there, neither could believe how far the flowers spanned within the garden. Taking all shapes and colors, their twisted along paths and trees- they felt like they had stumbled into a painting.

"Whoa-" Lance leans down to squint at a few, able to get a good enough view from the proximity. Inhaling, he smiles at the sweet smell. "I just want to lay down," he tells Keith.

"You would crush the flowers,"

"I know but just- smell them,"

"They smell good,"

"I'm in heaven," Lance lays down

"Get up,' Keith tugs on his arm.

"Nope- I can die here. Go on without me." Lance snorted wildly when Keith grabbed his legs and started to drag him. "Bring out yer dead!" he called then clapped his hands. "Bring out yer dead!" he clapped again.

"What are you even talking about?" Keith asks over his shoulder, smirking.

"You ever see Monty Python and the Holy Grail?" Lance inquired.

"No,"

"Ah- then the joke is ruined for you. If we ever get back to Earth, I'll show you that movie," he sighs. "Carry on," Keith continued to drag Lance around the garden for a while. Lance was pleased to just stare at the flowers as he passed, and was surprised when a familiar pair of boots slide over his gaze,

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, hey Dravla," he waves from the ground.

"Is this how common human dates are?" Tellru inquired, peeking down at him.

"...Yes," Lance nods.

"No," Keith corrects him.

"You've never been on one before, so how would you know?"

"I've seen movies and TV, Lance," Keith drops his legs and helps him to his feet.

"Well, I'm happy to see you two are enjoying your day," Tellru chuckles. "Did you come to partake in the flower picking?"

"The what?"

"Every year on this day for the festival you are allowed to pick flowers. Similar to that fairy tale with the sea shells; if you pick 50 flowers then give them to your chosen Equivalent, it will bless you with luck for the upcoming year." she explains.

"Oooh- Keith we should do this. We need luck," Lance insists.

"What is with you and believing fairy tails?"

"Are you judging fairy tails? You? The conspiracy theorist?" Lance nudges him, "Admit it, you are just embarrassed to give me flowers,"

'T-That's not it," Keith nudges him twice as hard, "Why would I be embarrassed giving _you_ flowers,"

"Because it would be romantic~" Lance waggles his eyebrows.

"Stop," Keith flicks him.

"So, wanna give it a go?" Dravla holds out baskets for them.

Lance takes it and forces Keith to take his, "So just pick 50?"

"Yup,"

"...If I collect mine before you do I get to be big spoon tonight!" Lance yelled into Keith's face. Blinking rapidly, Keith glanced at the fields of flowers then back at Lance.

"..." He shot into a sprint and Lance screamed.

"Cheating!" Lance moved down the steps to grab the red flowers. Plucking them gently but swiftly, he placed them within the basket as fast as he could. The job was rather simple, but with his sight, he was positive he wasn't moving as quickly as Keith.

Grumbling with that fact, he tried to quicken his pace and got up to move to the bigger pile of flowers.

In his rush, he rammed into someone else. Startled by the bump of someone's shoulder against his own he stumbling back. Lance quickly apologized. "Oh jeez, sorry there-"

A heavy hand came down on his arm, gripping it. Thinking the person was just trying to catch him from his fall, he steadied himself and attempted to step away. The grip didn't falter, only squeezing tighter.

Feeling uncomfortable from the hold, Lance frowned, "Um- let go," he tells the person slowly. They were tall, looming over him as Dravla usually did- but this definitely wasn't Dravla. Lance couldn't see his face clearly through his blurry vision, he felt he recognized them from somewhere.

They spoke to him in the Coeihn language, but he didn't understand.

"I don't speak your language," he says bluntly, "Where is Tellru-?" when he tried to look around for her, there was a sharp tug on his arm and they were walking.

"Hey-" he dug his feet into the ground to stop them, "Let go of me-!" he tried to pry the fingers off of his arm but they wouldn't budge. "I said let go!" Lance tries to yank his arm away and yelled. The Coeihn didn't seem to appreciate that and lifted him by the arm like a sack of potatoes. Lance gasped when a second hand grabbed his other arm, swinging him to the side when he started to kick.

He screamed.

The sound of heavy footsteps, rushed and furious, quickly followed.

"Hey!" a voice booms amongst the noise, "Let go of him!" the threat of possible death looms heavily with the demand if it is not followed. He knew that Keith hadn't been far, and he was grateful that his voice had reached him.

Tellru seems to be with him and is saying something in her language, ("Do we have a problem here, Rashra?")

 _Rashra._

So it was this creep again? What the hell did he want?

("This does not concern you, Tellru. It is official business,") Rashra frowns at her.

("Release him. He is a citizen and has committed no crime,") Tellru commands, refusing to back down. She holds out a hand to keep Keith in place when he tries to step forward. His gaze locks with Lance, wanting to run to him, and he glares back at Tellru for preventing him from doing so. Knowing he just wanted to have Lance return to his side, she pats his shoulder. There was no sense in starting a fight right now- especially with this big of a crowd present.

"Stay calm," she tells him. Keith's eyes flare but he nods. They both turn when Rashra starts to speak.

"What is he saying?" Keith demands, eyes never leaving Lance's dangling form. It pissed him off how Rashra was just tossing him around like that.

"He states that he is here to investigate constant complaints about the two of you and was bringing Lance in to question him," Tellru folds her arms and takes a little calming breath, ("Complaints do not seem like a valid enough reason to simply drag someone off against their will. He was doing nothing wrong just now and you are interrupting the festival- a very traditional festival to celebrate Equivalents- who he was spending his day with,") she motions to Keith.

("These two are hardly Equivalents- the entire Kingdom knows that. It sickens me that they dare even partake in our traditions,") Rashra growled at her.

("Who are you to judge another race?") Tellru demands, ("You may be head of the royal guard but you do not go above law, Rashra,")

Keith can barely keep himself still when Rashra squeezes a little too tightly along Lance's wrist. When he yells in pain Keith is barely held back by Tellru's arm, "I said let him go!"

His screaming was starting to draw the attention of the other Coeihns. Not sure what was happening, they began to murmur in confusion. It had become almost normal for the two humans to travel around the Kingdom, and most Coeihns hardly paid them any mind. But the pure rage on Keith's face was enough to catch their curiosity.

"If you gotta a problem than you can take it up with me!" he yells at Rashra, "But I swear you better get your grimy hands off of him or I'll rip your head off!"

"O-Okay Keith, calm down-" Tellru tries to say.

"NO! I'm sick of this! He is my equivalent! No one else's!" Keith yells to the crowd, furious and wild, "And if any of you try to mess with him, I'll kill you!"

Lance was wide eyed, his mouth hanging open. Feeling a heat spread across his skin, he turned his head to try and hide his blush into his arm. He hadn't expected Keith to just yell that to the world- but honestly, when Keith is angry, always expect the unexpected.

("Are you threatening me?") Rashra inquires darkly, not quite sure what Keith was yelling. Tellru refused to answer. ("Until proven otherwise, this human is coming with me for questioning. He shall be returned to you later,") Rashra concludes.

("You can't just do that!") Tellru argues.

("Rashra,") Dravla had come down from the upper levels, gaze cold, stopping him in his tracks, ("Do not do this,")

("You do not command me, Champion. What I say is law with my position,") he turned, and Lance turned with him.

Tellru had to lift Keith up by the waist when he pulled out his Bayard. "Tellru! Let me go!"

("You are not above the law, Rashra!") Dravla was moving forward.

("I doubt any others will share your opinion,") Rashra smirks over his shoulder. He barely got in another two steps before a hand meets his chest. Stopping cold in his tracks, Rashra is surprised by the towering Coeihn, who had originally been standing in the crowd, moved to stand before him. While Lance had thought Dravla was tall before, this guy was on a whole new level.

("Is that so, Rashra? I shall be the judge of that,") This mysterious new figure, draped in a cloak, reached out his palm. With a quick set of motions, one too fast for anyone to follow, he had turned Rashra's wrist. He yelled in pain at the un-natural twist and released Lance.

Falling to the floor with a heavy thump, Lance looked up just in time to watch the figure flip Rashra over his shoulder and slam him into the ground, ("I believe your balance needs some work,")

Rashra seethed, coughing from the air knocked out of his lungs, ("Who-?")

The figure ignored him, stepping over him to Lance.

The crowd went quiet.

Surprised when a calming hand gripped his arm, Lance was helped to his feet, "Are you alright?" his savior inquired with a kind voice. He couldn't make out his face at all, but Lance could see the color of his eyes.

All Coeihns seemed to have the same skin and eye color (Gray or brown). They only varied when it came to their body shape/size and their hair.

But this one, his eyes were a startling green. It was so bright that even with his sight Lance could see it as clear as day

"Um… yeah," Lance nods slowly, "Thanks- wait, you speak English?" he gasped.

"I must learn every language that finds it's way to this world," the figure chuckles, motioning for him to return to his friends. "I apologize for what just happened. You are free to go,"

Rashra had just stumbled to his feet and was turning to the tall Coeihn in anger.

"Oh uh… r-right," Seeing Rashra approaching, Lance turned and ran. Keith wiggled out of Tellru's grip and met him half way, crushing him into a tight embrace. The tight feeling in Lance's chest was gone the moment they were together.

"Are you okay? Let me see-" he grabbed Lance's arms to examine them. "Why that no good-" he trailed his thumbs over the new places bruises that circled his skin. "Rashra!" he roared at him.

"Keith no-" Lane caught him before he could go after him.

Tellru was at their side in a second "Lance," she says softly, "Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay," he tells her. "Who was that guy?" he motions to the Coeihn that had helped him.

"I do not know," she admits, "But I feel- he seems familiar," she looks at Dravla who is frowning deeply.

"Either way, we owe him our thanks. I am sorry this happened- Rashra had no right to try and take Lance in for questioning simply because others do not believe you are Equivalents or spies," he sighs at them, bowing his head.

"S-Sorry," Lance lowers his gaze.

"It's not your fault," Keith insists, "It's-" he is breathing heavily, too riled up and pissed to calm down. Gripping Lance's shoulders he ran his hands up and down his arms, as if he was trying to rub away the bruises. With a wild glaze in his eyes, he shot a furious look at Rashra. "HEY!" he called to him.

"Oh- Keith no no- don't pick a fight," Lance tried to stop him.

Rashra turned and Keith pointed at him. "You," he growls, "I'll show you who equivalents are," he threatened.

Lance was confused, "Keith?"

"Open your mouth," Keith says. The words felt angered and… sensual? The odd mix of the two was weirdly pleasing to Lance's ears.

"Wha-" he blushed when Keith gripped his shoulders and leaned in.

"Do it,"

Lance couldn't argue, his words getting stuck in his throat. Shaking a little, he hesitantly opened his mouth. Kind of expecting, and hoping for a certain something, his assumption was correct felt Keith opened his own mouth and closed the distance between them.

With an airy exhale, Keith's tongue slipped into his mouth and twirled heavenly. The kiss was rough and wet- complete tongue to tongue. He legs felt ready to buckle. Keith was getting good at this.

The entire crowd was caught by surprise, eyes widened and some even giggling at the show.

"Ke-" When the kiss started to draw out Lance tried to pull away, his mind going hazy. They were in public- everyone was watching- but Keith was persistent- pushing, pulling and sucking. It was overwhelmingly wonderful.

Ending a little too quickly, Keith tore their lips apart, eyes instantly lifting to glare at Rashra. The Coeihn scoffed indignantly, stepping back with a contorted scowl.

"Jeez, Keith…" Lance gasped for air, whipping some drool of his chin, "I-If you wanted to just make out where ever you should have told me," he tried to tease but it came out shaky.

"Stop talking," Keith silences him with a kiss to his lower lip, his eyes locked with Rashra's in a challenging threat. It was possessive and hot and holy crap Lance wasn't going to be able to stand for much longer if this kept up.

"K-Kay," he shivered. He glanced at Tellru and Dravla

Like little fangirls they were holding hands and bouncing excitedly, grinning and giving him thumbs-up.

He blushed and looked away.

("Well- I think you have your answer there, Rashra,") The tall Coeihn who had saved Lance before mused.

("Who are you in the first place to stop an arrest by the guard?") Rashra turned his attention back to him.

("Me? Well you know me, Rashra,") they lifted their hand and pulled down their hood.

The entire valley gasped.

The Coeihns began to bow, dropping like flies.

(K-King-") with a panicked expression, Rashra fell to his knees and bowed his head.

Lance nuzzles into Keith, "What's going on?"

"Our king…" Dravla says in an awed murmur next to him. He motions forward to the man who had intervened "King Manson," he drops to a knee with Tellru.

Holy- this was the King?

THEY HAD JUST MADE OUT IN FRONT OF THE KING?!

Lance was going to faint and had to lean into Keith for support. Not sure why he was freaking out, Keith gawked at him.

All in all, neither were sure if they should follow the others and bow or not so they just stood awkwardly amongst the crowd, staring at the supposed Coeihn King in shock.

With bright eyes and a dazzling smile, he nodded his head to them, ("Now tell me, Rashra- why did you interrupt these two on such a joyous day?")

Rashra dare not speak, his shoulders trembling slightly.

("This young man-") he motions to Lance, ("Has won his citizenship fair and square. I witnessed his trial, as did many of you- yet I continue to see a very rude display of mindless accusations thrown at them. They are not Coeihns, if their appearance did not point that out enough. They will not follow in our traditions for they were not raised in them. That does not mean you belittle or treat them poorly. They are equals to us all. If any of you have a problem with this I will gladly speak with you one on one to discuss this but for the time being, and I mean this with the utmost care I can, _leave them be,")_ the crowd shivered with his dark look. His previously bright green eyes had grown red with his command. Shifting back to green, he stepped over Rashra and moved towards them.

"What did he just say?" Keith demanded to Tellru.

"He has told everyone to leave you both alone," Tellru summarized.

"Oh... how nice of him," Lance perks up, watching the King approach Dravla.

"Dravla," the King smiles at him.

Dravla bowed his head and rose to his feet, "Manny- what are you doing here?"

"I finished my council meeting an hour ahead of time. This festival has always been one of my favorite holidays, I couldn't bare to miss it," he nods his head to Tellru then turns to Keith and Lance, "Lance and Keith, was it?"

Keith's grip around Lance's waist tightened,

"Uh… yeah. Yeah that's us," Lance nods nervously,

"It is a pleasure to meet you," he bows his head. "I am Manson,"

"Thanks for the save,"

"Rashra has always been hot tempered- holding a grudge longer than he should. But this is a day of celebration. I did not wish to see it ruined by faceless blame. I've seen spies- you are not them,"

"Thank you, Manny," Tellru says gratefully. Lance found it kind of cute that Dravla and Tellru both seemed to call Manson by this shared nickname, "Rashra refused to listen to reason,"

"Yes- I am aware. He has been pushing his boundaries lately," he glares over his shoulder for a moment. Sighing, he lifts his hands and motions for his people to continue about their day. When they start to disband, most smiling and waving to the King excitedly, he turned back to them, "Now- Tellru here tells me you had something you wished to discuss."

"Oh… Oh yeah! We did!" Lance gasps, "We need to reach our friends,"

Manson nods, "Yes, Tellru has mentioned this- the ones out in space? In all honesty, I see no problem to why you cannot contact your allies. However, there is an issue."

"Issue?" Keith frowns.

"Our signal is being jammed,"

"Jammed?" Tellru was shocked.

"You didn't mention this before, Manny." Dravla adds.

Manson sighed. "I hoped to discuss this with you tomorrow to save the joy of today, but I might as well tell you now. The Traveks, they've developed some means in blocking all forms of communications out of the kingdom. While normally we could see a call to our forces west and north, we now have the travel by Parlog to get it there,"

"Meaning all interstellar communication is the same," Dravla frowns

"I'm sorry wait- Traveks?" Lance asked.

"I mentioned them to you once before when you first arrived here. We have been at war with them for decades now," Tellru tells him,

"So they are blocking your communications some how? Can you fix it? Stop them from blocking you?" Lance asked

"Yes, but first we have to discover where the source of the jamming signal is coming from. If we can do that then we can cut off the signal." Manson tells him.

"You just can't find where it is coming from," Keith concluded

"Yes," he sighs, "We are looking into it now, but for the time being, I am afraid I have no means of contacting your friends."

Keith and Lance share a glance, sighing. So, more waiting, huh?

"Well uh, thanks for telling us. If there is anything we can do to help locate that signal we'll do what we can," Lance says.

"I appreciate that. For now, please enjoy your time here as our guests. I wish I could assure no one bothers you, but not everyone in this Kingdom agrees with each other,"

They nod in understanding. Sharing a bow with the King, they watch him run off to get back to his duties. It was strange just meeting a King and talking to him so casually.

"He seems nice,"

Dravla smiles, "He is. Very kind."

"I cannot believe he snuck out of the Kingdom to come down here," Tellru rolls her eyes. "I guess he really wanted to meet both of you."

"I thought he said he was here for the festival?" Lance asks.

"Manson doesn't celebrate the festival anymore…" Dravla pauses, down casting his eyes, giving Tellru a long look. Tellru looked away, "At least, not since his Equivalent passed away. I am positive he came here just to seek both of you out. He rather enjoys talking with beings outside of our world- though he never really gets the chance to,"

"Oh," they nod. "It was nice to meet him too."

"Now we just need to locate that jamming signal," Tellru concludes, "Those Traveks- what other strange methods have they devised?"

Dravla pats her shoulder, "More work for us, right?"

"Always," she groans. Smiling at the two of them, she hands them back their baskets, "I'm positive you won't be interrupted this time,"

Lance takes it with a smile. Noticing that Keith didn't seem as inclined to run off in a different direction this time, they started to collect flowers again. "You got 50 yet, Keith?" he asks. Keith is only a short distance away, glancing at Lance constantly with this protective kind of aura surrounding him.

"Almost, 10 more to go."

Lance needed 22. Realizing he wasn't going to win this, he bit his lip. Knowing he would need to get Keith distracted somehow to assure his victory, he struggled to think.

Then he recalled what Tellru had mentioned earlier.

The notion of Keith liking his back.

Fumbling with the basket, Lance dared the theory, "H-Hey Keith?" Keith lifted his head.

"What?"

Lance put a hand to his hip, leaning slightly in an almost model like pose. Keith choked a little behind him. Feeling a burst of courage from that, Lance curved his back; inquiring with a sweet voice over his shoulder, "Wanna get something to eat after this?"

He coughed and stammered, "S-Sure,"

"You okay?" Lance hummed

Keith nodded meekly, averting his gaze.

Holy hell…

Feeling this sense of power and control, Lance stretched his hands over his head. "Man am I stiff," he says innocently, stretching his arms across his chest and over his head.

Keith had grown dead quiet behind him.

With a little whistle, felling hesitant but excited, Lance reached for his toes, giving Keith a perfect view of his ass.

Keith sucked in a heavy breath.

Lance snapped back upright, face red and grinning. His spine was tingling with this little thrill. To have Keith wrapped around his finger with just a simple action- it was awesome.

"Done!" he lifted his basket in victory.

"W-What?" Keith tensed behind him. Lance presented him the basket of flowers.

"50 flowers and I'm big spoon tonight when we cuddle," he declared.

"Wha- you-" Keith stepped back, "Don't just talk so casually about that!" he yelled with a red face.

"Why?" Lance inquired, "We are cuddling tonight, aren't we?"  
"..."

"Keith?"

"O-Of course we're- yeah of course we are but you don't need to announce it," he muttered in a way that Lance thought was adorable.

"You are the only one who understands me," Lance reminded him.

"Well, we understand you," Tellru and Dravla called from their picnic table, grinning mischievously at them. Lance and Keith screamed, chucking their baskets at them.

Red and Blue flowers shot into the air as laughter echoed through the valley.

* * *

 **0000-0000**

"Goodnight!" Lance waved to Tellru and Dravla as they walked away. Having stayed out late into the night, Lance was glad when they were finally able to head in and go to bed. "Well, today was weird- but not bad,"

Keith yawned, "If you say so,"

"It was," he insists. Shuffling into the apartment, Keith paused in the kitchen. Reaching into his pocket, as if he just realized something, he turns to Lance. "Lance?"

"Yeah?"

Keith approaches him, slow and attentive, "I forgot to give you this… But um- don't take it the wrong way," Not sure what he meant, Lance felt something drop into his palm. It was small, and slightly heavy. A metal? "Those are considered the traditional ties here so um… D-Dravla was pretty demanding that I get you one,"

Lifting his palm closer to his face, he sucked in a heavy breath, "Is this a ring?"

"Like I said, don't get the wrong idea- it is just a traditional tie or whatever. I'm not proposing or anything,"

"Oh my god, you got me a ring," Lance ignored him. "An actual ring- does it fit?" he put it on his ring finger. Keith was panicking, trying to get him to take it off. "Do you have one too?" Lance demanded, agreeing to at least put it on his middle finger instead.

"I- yes but-"

"Put it on," Lance grinned.

"N-No!"

"You got us ties, so you got to wear them. It's a tradition here Keith," he says slyly. He didn't know why he was enjoying this so much. Something about Keith getting him a ring just made him happy. Of course he was in no way ready to marry this guy, but the thought of them sharing a cute little ring was nice.

After a few plea's, he eventually got Keith to put it on.

"I love them," Lance reaches for Keith, brushing away some of his bangs and cupping his face. Feeling the heated skin at his fingertips, he smiles.

Keith doesn't say anything, but leans into his touch.

"I got chains too…" he whispers, embarrassed. How this guy was able to French him in front of some huge public but not wear a little ring for longer than 5 minutes, Lance would never know.

But he agreed to put the ring around the chain and wear it as a neck less.

Lance was cackling as they slipped into bed, grinning like a mad man, "Big spoon~"

"Why does it matter who is big spoon and who is little spoon…whatever those even mean," Keith sighs. Wrapping around the blankets, Lance shimmied over to his side of the bed, wrapping his arms around Keith.

"It's spooning," Lance informs him, "Cuddling,"

"I get that part- ohh. Wait, it's a play on words," he sighs.

"There you go," Lance praises. Tucking his arms around Keith's waist, he smiled brightly at him. "Thanks for the gift,"

Keith's eyes trail down to the necklace and he nods, "Your welcome,"

* * *

 **DONNENENENENENENENENENENENNENEN I loved this chapter.**

 **And hey- You finally get to meet the King. And we are slowly pulling our way into the more, let's say, smuttier part of this fanfic. *eye brow wiggle ***


	16. Love punched Part one

Lance always hated waking up early. Most times his body was forced awake by an alarm or some sort of emergency. There ever looming fear of death and what not…

Recently, he seemed to be waking up on his own with the rising sun. And for some unfathomable reason, he didn't mind it.

For one reason: Waking up early meant he woke up before Keith.

Waking up before Keith meant he could quietly admire him in secret.

Ever the pain in his side, he still couldn't see much. From a distance, Keith was just a haze of colors, but if he inched closer he could make the outline of his nose, eyes, and lips.

If he was really sneaky he could sometimes reach out and touch those features, quietly appreciating the softness of his lips, the smooth skin of his nose, and the luscious curl of his eyelashes. And his cheeks, oh heaven his cheeks; they were so squishy Lance almost woke Keith up with his giggles when he gently pinched them, pulling them apart a little till Keith made a funny face.

In truth, even if Lance wasn't able to clearly see him yet he had seen Keith enough before being blinded that he could picture Keith perfectly. As well as most of the expressions he tended to make; Scowls, blank looks, annoyance- that fond little eyebrow raise he would give people sometimes.

That one was his favorite.

His pride wouldn't allow him to admit that, of course. Or say just how attractive Keith was at times. Unfairly so, honestly.

Dark eyes, dark hair, with a strong jaw, long slender nose, and that smirk…

That smirk had a dangerous power over Lance's common sense sometimes.

"Keith?" Lance whispered between them. He intended to wake him up, but his attempts were pathetic. He was enjoying this moment too much.

Keith's gentle breaths, his calm aura, his hair messily sticking to his hair- Lance reached up and curled a finger through it, smiling. You could never normally see any of this, so he had to appreciate it while he could!

"Hey, sleepy head," he barely whispers. Lance had meant what he said in his drunken exhaustion a few weeks ago- Keith's hair was gorgeous. Despite how poorly he kept it at times, a single bath seems to rejuvenate it perfectly, leaving it as soft as silk.

Lance enjoyed running his fingers through the mullet at times like these

Opening his mouth, Lance blew lightly into Keith's face.

He stirred at the action, eyebrows furrowed slightly. Eyelids fluttered open and Lance could see the warm color of his purple eyes. Taking a second to blink a few times, Keith's gaze focused on Lance. They were close, entangled in each other's arms and nuzzling their noses together.

Wondering if it was too late to feel embarrassed, Lance grins impishly, "Morning~"

Keith turned around too fast for Lance to catch the spreading blush crossing his cheeks, "What the hell," he muttered before yawning. "Who just stares at someone while they sleep?"

"I do…" Lance pulled him back against his chest, "I can count all your zits that way,"

"I don't have any,"

"I know. It's completely bogus considering you go days without taking a bath or shower,"

Keith yawned again, "You are the only one who cares about that kind of thing, Lance,"

"All people should care about their face. It is what everyone tends to look at first,"

Keith snorts a little, his voice slurred, not fully awake, "Are you an idiot or an idiot?" he says drowsily.

"The first one," Lance tells him, "I resent being called the second one,"

Keith's chuckle vibrates through his back and against Lance's chest.

It made him feel warm and bubbly, "So- I'm starting to think you like being the little spoon," he announces slyly. Keith elbows him a little, refusing to move from the spot.

So what if it turns out he is a cuddler? Lance was obviously to blame for that.

"Shut up," he muttered. After a few short seconds, he says something incoherent and turns under Lance's arms. Shifting until he was facing Lance again he nuzzled into his chest, sighing contently, "Sleep…' The spot was too comfortable to let his embarrassment pull him from it.

"Oh, so if you wake up before me, you get to just wake me up- but If I wake up before you, I'm just supposed to let you sleep?" Lance snorts, brushing Keith's bangs out of his face. Keith made a grumpy face, refusing to open his eyes.

"M'tired…"

"Poor baby," he teased. "I'm getting some breakfast,"

"Don't-" Keith scowled. Lance getting up to get breakfast means he would have to move his arm from underneath Keith's chin. He would lose that sense of warmth.

"Sucks," Lance chided, carefully pulling his arm out. He laughed when Keith tried to grab it to keep it there. A little too sluggish from exhaustion his head plopped flat on the mattress and he grumbles.

"Come on, get up," Lance smiled

He ended up coaxing Keith out of the bed with the cherry flavored juice Tellru brought them. Lance was positive, of course, that they didn't call them cherries in this world, but Keith loved the tastes of it regardless, chugging it down by the cartons at times.

Lance wasn't a big fan, allowing Keith to do such a gross thing. It was actually almost comedic to watch the crazy haired paladin lazily slurp from the carton, sleep still evident in his slouched posture.

Things had been quiet since they had met the King. No assassination attempts, no Rashra- it was peaceful.

If Lance had known that the people just needed a scolding from their King, he would have requested that weeks ago.

"Tellru left a note," Lance holds it up and hands it to Keith for him to read. Cause of course, he couldn't read it.

"She says that we have the bath to ourselves for two hours today,"

"Ohh sweet!" Lance leaped to his feet, "I call going first!"

"We could just go together," Keith yawns.

"I'm not as blind as I was before, I'll be fine," Lance pauses. Looking Keith over, he dares something crazy. Reaching for the bottom of his shirt, he casually lifted it over his head, tossing it towards the hamper. Feeling Keith's gaze lock with his back, he smirked a little, "I can bath by myself...Unless you want to join me~?"

Keith is startled to full awareness and his mouth falls open. His eyes drink in the sight before him. He barely whispers, "N-No... You go first,"

Lance hummed deviously, "Okay, if you are sure." he pauses, "I don't want another peeping tom incident," he warns.

Keith gawks at him, his mind torn from worshipping Lance's torso or throwing a towel at him to cover him, "For the last time- I wasn't!"

"Sure sure," Lance rolls his eyes and collected some clothes. It was nice to have a moment to himself, just him and a giant pool of water. He floated on his back for who knows how long before he realized Keith also needed to bathe.

Quickly cleaning himself, he got out and dried off. Throwing on his clothes, he returned to the apartment to let Keith go next. "Make sure you wash your hair,"

Keith grumbles, "Make sure you keep the door locked while I'm gone,"

"Why?"

"So no one comes in, why else would you lock a door?"

"I can take care of myself," Lance frowns. "Now go, go,"

With a heavy frown, he pauses, making sure to lock the door himself before leaving. Lance rolled his eyes. Not that he didn't appreciate Keith worrying about him, but it was different now that his sight was getting better.

Of course, there was still no promise that they would fully heal, but he didn't need to be treated like a baby anymore. He could do things by himself now.

So when someone knocked on the door, Lance only hesitated for a few moments before answering it. It was common courtesy to answer the door if someone knocked, right?

"Hello~?" It wasn't Tellru or Dravla. In fact, it wasn't even close to who he expected to be.

It was a child. And it definitely wasn't Ruru, judging by their hair.

"Hello," the child greeted and then proceeded to push his way inside. Tearing around Lance's legs, he ran for the couch and leaped up to it.

"Uh-?!" Lance looked back and forth from the hall to the kid, "Hi? Who uh- who are you, kid?"

"Harri," he says. He stops then and bows, "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Not expecting the child to be so formal Lance awkwardly bowed his head back, "You too?" he paused, "Wait… you understand me? I understand you?!"

"I speak English," Harri tells him. He spoke it very well, actually. Even better than Ruru, and Lance had been teaching her words for weeks now.

"Okay… Okay _Harri,_ who are you? What are you doing here?" Lance wanted to get this kid out of here and fast. What if his parents were close and assumed Lance kidnapped him or something?! That definitely wouldn't blow over well.

"I told you, I'm Harri," the child smiles, "I wanted to come meet you," he patted the chair next to him. Hesitant, Lance slowly went to sit down. It was a kid, after all. He couldn't be that untrusting to a child.

"You wanted to meet me?" he inquires.

"Of course! You are the blue champion! The outsider who managed to beat all five champions!" Harri says excitedly. His eyes are a piercing green, wide and filled with childish wonder. They seemed familiar to Lance, but he couldn't recall from where.

"Well, yeah I am," Lance says with an ounce of pride. He couldn't help it when Harri was looking at him like some sort of fairy tale hero. "Were you there?"

"With my Father," he nods. "It was amazing! But you still won even though you were blind! Are you still blind now?"

"A little,"

With a clatter, the front door swung open and Lance could hear Keith sigh, "Lance, I told you to keep the door locked," After some power bath, the red paladin stepped in with a towel slung over his shoulders, keeping his hair from getting his clothes wet.

"H-Hey, Keith," Lance waved. Keith paused, squinting his eyes.

His mouth drops open slightly as he looks back and forth from Lance to the new guest, and he says, "Lance,"

"Yeah?"

"There is a thing next to you,"

"That is called a child, Keith. We've had this discussion once before,"

"Why is he here?"

"I dunno, I'm still trying to get him to answer,"

Keith lifts his hand, pinching the bridge of his nose, "10 minutes. I was gone for _10 minutes_ and you wonder why I'm not comfortable leaving you alone,"

Lance scoffed, "Nothing bad happened. It is just a kid. His name is Harri,"

At the sound of his name, Harri smiled at Lance, "Is he your equivalent?"

Lance sputters, "Huh? Oh um… y-yeah," it was part of the routine to tell everyone that Keith was- so why did he feel so flustered suddenly to admit it now? "His name is Keith,"

"Keef," Harri nods.

Keith narrows his eyes, a grim smile pulling at his lips, "Keith," he corrects.

Harri attempts again, "Keef,"

" _Keith,"_

Lance finds it amusing, "That's what he said, Keef," he teases. Keith points a warning finger at him and Lance sticks out his tongue.

Bickering between each other for a few seconds, Lance jerked when a heavy bang echoed the room. Realizing it was the front door, he screamed when it was violently tossed open from the outside.

Keith hurdled in front of him, ready to pull out his Bayard till he realized it was Dravla.

"Dravla, what the hell?" he demanded angrily, lowering the protective arm he had lifted in front of Lance.

Not one to usually come in without knocking first, or break the door for that matter, Dravla stormed into the room. He didn't look at them immediately and scanned the perimeter.

"Oh, perfect!" Lance's mood lightens, grateful to see the Coeihn who could help him with this kid situation, "Listen Dravla, I know you are probably about to go see Ruru's play for her school, but we got a problem here. There is a kid-"

"No no! I-I can't go! I can't go see Ruru's performance. The entire guard is in an uproar!" Dravla paced the room in a delirious sense of worry.

Startled, Lance lifted up his hands in hope to calm their Coeihn friend. They had never seen him so upset before, "Dravla. Dravla, buddy, calm down. What's happening?"

"The young prince!"

"What?"

"The young prince is gone! No one can find him! The King is going nuts and-" Dravla stopped dead in his tracks. Straightening, his face morphed from panic to a worrying blank look. He turned his head to the child seated at the table.

"Hi Dravla," Harri waved.

Dravla turned his head to the sky, as if silently pleading with the stars to strike him down where he stood. When it didn't happen, he sighed. "Prince Harri," he says slowly, stressing the words and trying his best not to explode on the spot, "What. Are. You. Doing. Here?" his smile is crooked.

"You're a prince?" Lance gasped at the child. His green eyes did seem familiar- if he was the King's son then he got them from him.

("I wanted to see the Blue champion,") Harri explains with a kick of his feet, speaking in his natural language.

("Do you have any idea how worried everyone was? Your Father- Tellru- they are both in a panic, Harri!") He tells him, kneeling down to place his hands on the child's shoulders.

("I'm locked in the castle all day… I just wanted to have some fun,") the prince lowers his gaze. ("That's all I wanted…")

"Um…" Lance lifts a hand to catch their attention, "Harri was just telling me he wanted to meet me or something. I don't think he meant any harm," he says honestly.

Dravla nods, the relief relaxing his shoulders, "I see, but Prince Harri, leaving without telling anyone has caused a lot of worries. Something could have happened to you and we might have never known," he says gently to the child, "I understand that you want some time to yourself, or that you wanted to meet Lance, but next time, please tell someone before you do."

"If I did they still might not have let me out of the castle," Harri frowns, puffing out his cheeks.

"No one said being a prince was going to be easy," Dravla agrees.

"And no one asked me if I wanted to be prince…" Harri cuts himself off, "I'll go back now. I got to meet the blue champion."

Lance glanced at Keith, frowning. Keith wasn't sure what Lance wanted and shrugged at him, watching as Lance stepped forward. Lance hated when kids were sad. "Well, maybe he could come to Ruru's performance before he heads home?" he offered.

Dravla snaps his attention to him, "What?"

"It's only an hour, right? Couldn't he come see it with us?"

Harri perks up, looking up at Dravla with pleading eyes, "I want to go!"

"You barely even know Ruru," Dravla says hesitantly.

"She is your daughter and I know you- that is all I need to know," Harri insists, "Please Dravla. I'll never run off again if you let me. Please please?" he begs and pleads. Lance gives him similar puppy dog eyes.

Inwardly groaning in protest, Dravla looks to Keith for help. Keith just shrugs. Dravla should have known that Keith couldn't say no to Lance when he gives him that look- it was impossible. He was on his own.

"Oh… Fine. Let me just go inform the King that I located you, alright?" the older Coeihn sighs. "And you have to put something on to cover your face so no one knows who you are,"

"Yay!" Harri and Lance leaped into the air, cheering.

After a quick call to the castle, and many scolding's from the King, he had agreed to let Harri go under the condition that Dravla stayed close to him at all times. Dravla, of course, agreed without complaint and they were off.

"So you snuck out of an entire castle by yourself?" Keith inquired to the child. He nodded. The red paladin seemed impressed and nodded thoughtfully.

"And just to see me- I'm touched," Lance grins. Harri gives him a little smile watched him in amazement. He seemed to follow Lance around like a small duckling, copying most of his gestures, all the way to the school.

"What is your weapon called?" Harri inquired with a smile.

"A Bayard," Lance tells him.

"Why is Keef's different?"

"It goes off your personality and takes the form of something that best matches you,"

"Are you two in love love?"

"Uh..." Lance scratched the back of his head nervously. He could see Dravla snickering from the corner of his eyes and was tempted to throw his leg out and trip him. "Well um...we are kind of just- I suppose you could say we are kind of...?" he bit his lip, then shoved Keith forward. "You tell him, Keith."

"What?" he snapped.

"Go on,"

"Lance," Keith was going to murder him later. Realizing Harri was waiting patiently for his answer, Keith awkwardly cleared his throat, "We're not really-" something sparks in the back of his eyes, "Yes," he finally says.

Lance staggered.

"We are in deep deep love with each other that Lance can't ever get enough of me. We are always saying how much we love each other and make kissy faces. Really, he is hopeless on his own and needs me to constantly baby talk him and carry him around like a small infant. We are always kissing and hugging," Lance didn't know what was worse, the fact that he was making up crap or that half of the stuff he said was kind of true!

He refuses to state which parts are which here.

"Really?" Harri covers his face a little, embarrassed.

"Yup. He is also super emotional whenever I'm away and just wants his big strong Keith to shield him from the world-" Keith is cut off when Lance's hand shoot out from behind him and cover his mouth.

"Why you-!" the tosses them to the right and takes Keith down to the ground in some crazy wrestling move.

"You told me to tell him!" Keith is grinning evilly.

"Eat dirt you mullet head! I'll show you helpless!" Lance tosses a handful of it into his face. Keith coughs a little, rolling them over. By the time Dravla had pulled them away a small crowd had come to watch the scene, murmuring and wondering to themselves if this was how Human Equivalents showed affection to one another.

"Ass," Lance grumbles.

Keith's hand slip apologetically into his. Lance forgives him in a heart beat, brushing dirt from his shoulder. Lance was tempted to tell Keith that he was lucky he was cute, or he would stay angry with him.

He bit his tongue at the last second, deciding his heart wasn't ready to say that. So he focused on the road ahead, his heart hammering in his chest and trying his best to ignore the little stares Harri was giving them.

("So they are in love love?") Harri inquired to Dravla within the Coeihn's main language.

Dravla smiles, ("Yes- they just have trouble admitting it sometimes. It is a human thing,")

("Ooh,") Harri giggles

The two paladin's squinted their eyes suspiciously, "What are you two talking about?"

"Nothing~"

They barely got to the school in time for Ruru's performance.

The building was small and cute and surrounded by flowers. Children covered the yard of it, talking and dressed in all sorts of outfits for the performance.

It reminded Lance of the little plays and performances he did when he was a child.

"Ruru!" Dravla called into the sea of Coeihn children. Puffy curls of green hair perked up and Ruru came charging at them. Dressed in a little blue dress, she grins and twirls in front of them, showing it off.

Lance leans in a little to get a closer look, "Sweetpea, you are so pretty! I can actually see the dress this time too- We made the right choice with this one!"

Ruru charged at him, leaping into his arms. "Lala, you come see performance?"

"Wouldn't miss it for anything," he says. Thrilled, Ruru reaches out to grab his face a little, and the two share a laugh.

When Lance grinned, Keith was positive there was nothing more perfect. The warm nature of this blue paladin was just too infectious. When you were around him, you felt safe and accepted.

Keith felt at home.

That was something he thought he would never be able to feel again, till meeting Lance. He was just full of surprises.

"You are staring at him," Dravla leans over his shoulder like he always did when he was being a meddling jerk. Keith tried to punch him.

"Shut up," he commanded

"If you think he is so wonderful, you should tell him~" Dravla cooes. He yells for Lance to help him when Keith starts to pull out his Bayard.

"Keith!" Lance scolded, "Put that away and get over here! It is Ruru's special day!"

Reluctantly following his command, Keith leaves Dravla to snicker behind a tree. When he trudged back to Lance, he was mesmerized by the gentle look he held in his eyes. He lifted Ruru up for him to see.

"Doesn't she look pretty, Keith?"

"You are," he agrees softly, but he wasn't talking to Ruru. No, he looking right over her, to the paladin that had been consuming his thoughts lately. Realizing the slip of his tongue almost a second too late, Keith screams, "I mean she is!" Lance hadn't seemed to catch on, to his relief.

Ruru, the little gremlin, ruined his plan when she snickered. It was deep and mocking and she says, "You call Lance pretty!" she struggles through the English.

Lance drops her and his face flushes beautifully. Keith chokes at the sight, his heart puttering messily in his chest.

Lance refused to believe her- or he couldn't bare to believe her, "No- he called you pretty,"

"No. He called _you,_ pretty." she corrects with a smug smile.

He looks at Keith, who jerks a little, smiling nervously. Unable to keep eye contact, Lance looks back at Ruru in a panic, "N-No he didn't!" his voice cracks.

"Yes, he did."

"No, he didn't!"

"Yes!"

"NO!

"YES! Right, Keef?" she looks up at him.

He plays dumb, "Huh? What now? What are we talking about?"

"We're all pretty here," Dravla cuts in, settling the matter. "I mean, look at us," he strikes a pose, "Drop dead gorgeous,"

Lance was grateful for the slight topic change and high-fived him, "Hell yeah,"

"Am I pretty?" Harri inquired at Lance's side.

"Course you are," the blue paladin ruffles his hair. Grinning, Harri catches Ruru's gaze. She is staring at him, puzzled. She motions to Harri and gives her father a confusing look. He chuckles nervously. '

Um… Ruru, you remember Harri, right?"

She nods solemnly, "Prince…"

"Well, he asked to come see your performance today. Say hi,"

Ruru and Harri turned to each other, eyes blank. ("...Hi,") Ruru waves a little

("Hello,")

Ruru held out her hand and Harri stepped forward to shake it. It was like two businessmen meeting for the first time. Then, like the little prince he was, Harri kissed her hand. Ruru goes still, an indescribable look in her usually loving eyes.

Lance watched the two curiously, then leans towards Dravla when it grows dead quiet, "Have they ever met before?"

"Twice, but they were both very little. Harri doesn't leave the castle grounds often."

"Why is that?"

Dravla glanced away, "The King is- ever since he lost his equivalent he has been very protective of the Prince. It's sad to say, but he feels his son will only be safe if he is in the perimeter of the castle, so he never really leaves. And Ruru doesn't like to go into the castle because she says it is stuffy, so they don't really talk."

Lance frowns, "I see… How did the King's equivalent-?"

"There was an attack from the Travek's." Dravla sighs sadly, "An explosion caused too much damage on Kac'ela- the King's equivalent. There was nothing we could do…"

"Kac'ela?" Lance thought about the name for a moment and hesitantly asked, "Is that a guy's name or a girls name?"

"A male,"

"..." Lance slowly inquires, "The King's equivalent was a guy?"

"Yes."

"And that's their biological son?" he points to Harri

"Yes."

Lance purses his lips. Okay Lance, you are on a different planet here. So not everything you learned in your health Ed class is going to apply here…

"Is there something wrong?"

"No," Lance shakes his head, "Just found that interesting, is all," he looks back at the two 6 year olds. Harri had just pulled away from kissing Ruru's hand and smiled at her. It was a forced smile- one he most likely must have mastered due to the family he comes from. They seemed to be getting along fine...

Till Ruru gut punched Harri hard and without mercy. She then watched him crumble to the floor, pumping her fist in silent victory.

Dravla let out a shrill call of distress, horrified. "Ruru, why?!" he wailed.

Ruru calmly turned and ran to hide behind Keith. Keith blinked at her, not even sure what to make of the situation. He almost looked kind of proud that she did it.

"He kiss me hand," she held it up for Keith to see. He acts like she is holding up a diamond to him and gasps.

"Did he?"

She nods, "Like a prince,"

"He is a prince," he tells her

"But like one," she says a little more insistently.

Speaking of the Prince, Dravla had crouched next to him, his hands fumbling to help him up "I-I am so sorry, Harri! She didn't- I don't know what came over her! Are you alright?"

Harri coughs, and rolls onto his stomach. Slowly pulling himself back to his feet, he nods weakly.

"Ruru," Lance asks "Why did you do that? That isn't nice,"

Ruru pouts and folds her arms. It reminded Lance of Keith, and he wondered if he was starting to influence her in some horrible way. "Cause,"

"Cause why?" he sighs.

Keith is kneeling down too, curiously tilting his head, "Did he say something?"

"No."

"Then what happened?"

Ruru taps her foot then says in a cute and quiet voice, "He kiss my hand... and I thought his eyes looked nice…"

"...HUH?" Lance asked. Keith just nodded, like that was a perfectly understandable reason. "Why would you punch him if you thought that?"

"Cause I had to tell him somehow!" she says

"So you punch him!?"

"Makes sense to me," Keith says.

"You shh- you have no part of this," Lance frowns at him.

"But it makes sense," he scowls, "She liked him so she showed him that through physical violence,"

Ruru nods, "Yes,"

"No!" Lance yells at them both, "That isn't how you show someone you like them!"

"What?" Dravla is utterly lost, "Who likes who know?"

"They are 6, Lance. Yes it does make sense," Keith hushes him.

"No it doesn't!"

"I-It's okay," Harri rubs at his sore stomach, "No one has ever punched me before-" he gives Ruru this look like she is the coolest thing he's ever seen. She sticks her tongue out at him.

Dravla opens and closes his mouth, lost and confused. "I don't- what?"

"I guess it's...Child romance?" Keith offers.

Lance cringes, deciding it was just best to roll with this. Keith nods approvingly to him. Lance is tempted to pinch him. He goes for it, pinching Keith's side. Keith leaps away from him, eyed wide.

He lifted his hand and approached Lance as if he intended to do it back.

Dravla cut between them, "Child what?!"

From within this mess, Tellru, ever one to appear out of nowhere, suddenly drops down in front of them, her eyes sparkling. "Between who? What's going on? I heard romance?"

"Ruru and Harri," Keith gossips. Which is something that should never happen.

"No," Ruru kicks Lance's ankle. Lance falls over and Ruru tackles him. "Cooties!" in her embarrassment, she hits Lance on the head.

"Then why are you yelling at me about that?" Lance yelped, "I'm not the one who said anything! It was Keith!"

"Ruru is cool," Harri is just grinning like a mad man, tugging on Tellru's sleeve.

Too many things were happening for anyone to really make sense of it all. Tellru looked like she was ready to start planning some future marriage, swinging Harri excitedly. Ruru was hitting and laughing at Lance, insisting the Harri was disgusting. Keith was watching from above, jabbing Lance's side from time to time to get him to laugh. And Dravla was crouched over, like his world was shattering around him.

Overall, a normal day.

When things started to cool down, Keith asked Tellru, "When did you get here?"

'Just now." she lifted Harri away from her, her happy expression turning sour, "Young man," she scolds, "You caused a whole lot of trouble today."

The prince lowers his gaze and nods, "Sorry…"

Tellru's expression softens and she hugs him, "I'm just glad you are alright. Please don't scare me like that again,"

"I won't. I came to see Ruru's performance. She is super cool! She punched me!" he grins. Tellru almost drops him, eyes snapping to her daughter.

"She what?"

"She liked my eyes and punched me!" Harri grins.

"..." Tellru forces a laugh and lowers Harri. "Ruru, my precious daughter; we need to have a discussion on showing others affection," she tries to grab her but Ruru ducks away, running into the sea of children.

"See you on stage!" she giggles maniacally!

Tellru pointed at Keith, "I blame you for this, you bad influence,"

"I've never hit anyone when I'm trying to compliment them," Keith says in his defense, "She didn't get that from me,"

"You hit Lance all the time," Dravla points out with a sour pout, also blaming him, "She must think it is normal,"

Keith blinks a couple times, "..."

Lance lifts a shaky hand, "What do you two mean by that?" he asks cautiously.

"You hit the person you like," Tellru smirks, "It isn't rocket science,"

"U-Um…" Lance could feel a blush creeping along his ears. Keith had to turn away to hide his, coughing into his hand.

"You two are cute," Tellru chuckles. Getting up and yanking her equivalent to his feet, she pats his shoulder. "Let's go find our seats before they are all taken,"

"Okay," he sniffled, broken at the idea of his baby girl growing up and finding an equivalent so soon. Tellru pats his head, insisting that that day won't be happening for a long time.

"Come along Lance, Keith," Tellru calls to them. Taking a moment to compose themselves, they shuffle after her, avoiding eye contact at all costs.

"So this is Ruru's school?" Keith asked.

"What's a school?" Tellru asks.

"This?"

"They call it an educational facility," Lance tells him.

"Oh uh- yeah that then," Keith shrugs.

"Yes. She'll be here for a few more years before she moves up with the older kids," Tellru explains to them.

'I'm home schooled," Harri tells Lance.

"Oh yeah? I bet you are super smart," Lance smiles. Harri is pleased to hear him say that and nods.

"I'm super super smart," he agrees. They move down the halls, each wall covered in drawings and projects the children had made. It was like walking into any normal elementary school back on Earth. The only difference is that they seemed to have a lot of extra rooms with large windows looking in.

Lance peeked in curiously, surprised to see an indoor pond of sorts on the other side.

"What's in there?'"The infant room," Tellru explains.

"The infant room," Tellru explains.

"There is a pond in there," Keith points out

"Yeah," Dravla nods.

"..." Lance frowns.

"What do baby Coeihns look like?" Keith asks.

"Wanna see?" Tellru reached for the door handle, opened it, and motioned for them to go inside.

Stepping in, they circled the pool. Lance and Keith couldn't prepare themselves for what they saw next.

The Coeihns didn't have babies like humans did. Quite the contrary actually.

"They're flipping tadpoles, Keith,' Lance shook his arm. "Tadpoles!" No arms or legs, just little fish looking things floating around. Granted, they were a lot bigger than normal, but they were totally still tadpoles.

Tellru gave them a curious look, "Is this not how babies are in your world?" she inquires curiously.

"No! No at all! I mean-" Lance hesitantly reaches a hand into the water. The little tadpoles curiously swam up to him, nudging his palm. Blinking at him they smile toothless smiles and scurried away.

Some had started to grow legs by now, only having little tails, while other's still looked more tadpole then Coeihn- it was bizarre but kind of cool?

"Do you guys lay eggs or something?"

"We do," Dravla says, "I assume humans don't?"

"No," they say instantly.

"How strange," Dravla mused. "Well you see. After two Equivalents-" he paused, his eyes trailing to Harri. His wide eyes blinked up to Dravla, innocent and waiting for what he was going to say.

Frowning, Dravla slowly brought his hands up and covered Harri's ears. Harri whined, trying to pull away the entire time Dravla told them the quickest Coeihns birthing biology lesson ever.

Lance wanted to cover his own ears by the end of it, "Didn't need to hear all of that,"

Coeihns are apparently similar to reptiles, and after they mate with their equivalent, they are able to lay eggs- it was the weirdest conversation Lance has ever had.

"So then- both guys and girls can lay eggs and fertilize them?" Keith asks calmly.

"Yes," they say.

"That is- completely different from humans. Only girls can have babies to our race," Lance admits. Dravla found that funny.

"Then how do two male equivalents have children?"

"They can't really on their own- they either adopt or get a surrogate; someone to have the baby for them," Lance tells them. "It's- complicated."

"It sounds like that." Dravla chuckles.

"I can't believe Ruru was once a tadpole," Keith says, "Do you two have pictures? I need to see this,"

"We will show you them later," Tellru promises him.

"I wanna see them too!"

"Alright, alright! Later," she ushers for them to get out of the room, "Right now we need to get seats." They sprinted for them, because Tellru was right, they were going fast. Dozens of parents had shown up for the performance, beaming proudly at their children.

Seated somewhere in the back, Lance found himself between Keith and Harri, watching as the rest of the parents filled in and tried to find seats. Tellru and Dravla had started talking with other parents, while Harri asked them questions from time to time about how the schools worked.

Lance had been quiet, his legs folded over each other and gaze set in deep thought.

The thing Dravla had talked about before had got him thinking about the differences in their culture. Two males, two females, a male with a female- all of these were normal equivalents here. There was no gay or straight or anything in between to Coeihns- just Equivalents, pure's, and unpure's.

It was actually… really amazing.

"Hey-" a finger brushed along his wrist. "What's up with you?" Keith asked. "You've been a little quiet."

"Just thinking about the tadpole stuff,"

"It is kind of weird."

Lance smiles at him, "Everything about this place is weird. But you are probably the weirdest thing," he jokes.

Keith snorts a little, "I'm the weird one? Have you seen the stuff you put on your face?"

"It's skin care cream,"

"It makes you look like an alien from mars,'

Lance fakes a gasp, "You wound me, sir! You are just jealous of my perfect complexion~"

"Not in a million years," Sharing a little laugh, Lance takes in Keith's face. Not sure why Lance was staring at him, he raises his eyebrow.

"What?"

Leaning back, Lance lifted his arm and wrapped it behind Keith's chair, "I just um... I got a question for you,"

"Oh yeah? What is it?"

"Are you gay?"

Choking on his own spite, Keith had to take a few minutes to cough. "W-What?"

"Are you gay?"

"You ask this now?" he demands incredulously, "After al the times we've made out?"

"I was just curious because I didn't actually know!" Lance insisted, "So are you or are you not?"

Keith huffs, shakes his head, then shrugs, "I don't know. I told you- I've never dated. I've never been interested in anyone that way before. Sexual attraction or whatever was never a thought that crossed my mind," his voice grows quiet, realizing they were surrounded by other people. "Are you seriously asking this here, around everyone?"

"It isn't like anyone understand English… besides, Tellru and Dravla don't know what Gay means- they don't refer to others like that," Lance explains to him.

"Oh…" Keith fiddles with the end of his jacket. "Still- it's a little late to ask that,"

"Is it?" Lance leans in a little. The lights above them were starting to grow dim when he asks, "But… you are interested in me that way?"

Turning to stare him straight in the face, Keith can still see the foggy blue of the other's eyes through the darkness. The play was about to start, and everyone was looking to the stage in anticipation. Everyone but Keith, who had been trapped by the heavy gaze of this stunning blue paladin before him.

Keith's eyes wander downward for a split second to watch Lance lick his lips. He shivers when Lance whispers, "Are you sexually attracted to me?"

Keith pondered what kind of person would just so openly ask that, but of course Lance would. He was so open with everyone with his heart on his sleeve- unguarded and open for all to hurt him freely. Keith both worried and liked that about him. Liked that Lance trusted others, but knew how others weren't always people who could be trusted.

You could trust Lance. He'd never let you down if you trusted something with him- taking it all the way to his grave if need be.

It was for that reason that Keith was tempted to tell him the truth.

To admit that, _yes_ , he was attracted to him. Achingly so.

"I…" he trails off, eyes flickering up and down from Lance's lips to his eyes. "I um…" bright lights appeared on the stage, lighting their faces from the side.

They had been using the darkness to cover their embarrassment, and gasped when it was suddenly taken from them, leaving them open and exposed. Looking away quickly, their faces red and hearts hammering, they forced themselves to focus on the starting performance.

It took till Ruru shuffled up to the stage for them to actually take interest in more than just each other and stop stealing quick and nervous glances when the other wasn't looking.

Ruru strutted that dress like the Queen she was, waving a little plastic sword around as she entered the stage.

She was like a beautiful little sunflower, prancing around and singing little songs with the other children. Lance didn't understand the play at all, given that it was a Coeihn language and they spoke completely in their own language.

Ruru loved it, however, and that was enough for Lance.

An hour passed, and Lance had to admit, these kids put a lot of serious work into this performance. From lighting, to affects, costumes- Ruru faked stabbed at least 3 kids! It was awesome! She apparently was playing the role of some knight who just happened to dress in beautiful dresses or something.

The crowd went nuts when the kids bowed their heads. Keith and Lance joined in, belting out praises for Ruru. She smiled at them, waving shyly.

After the performance, Tellru handed Ruru at least several dozen flowers, gushing over her daughter relentlessly. Dravla was in tears, insisting that his child was a top star actor.

She giggled and grinned- loving their praises.

Then Harri tried to say something, attempting to tell her that she looked really nice in her dress. She didn't take it well and kicked him.

Thankfully she did this before the guards showed up to take Harri home, and Tellru and Dravla were given the chance to properly explain to her that hitting royalty was going to get her into serious trouble. Especially if the King found out.

At least Harri didn't seem to mind. He actually seemed thrilled that someone out there wasn't treating him the Prince and saw him as something different.

"Bye Harri," Lance waves to him. Harri brightens, and hugs Lance's legs.

"Bye bye," he says. "Bye Keef!" he waves to him.

Keith sighs at the name but waves back, "See ya, Kid."

Watching him saunter off with the guards, Lance inhaled deeply, 'Well, I didn't understand a single thing about that play, but good job Ruru."

"It was about economical attributes and their effects on politics," Ruru tells him.

"…Then why were you stabbing people?" he frowns.

"I was revenging my death from my past life as a tree,"

Lance hesitated, "Coooool~?"

"Cool," she agrees, skipping ahead. Making a straight cut through the grass, she motioned to the large play set on the side of the school. Inquiring if she could play for a few minutes, her parents nodded and she was off.

"Kids grow up so fast," Dravla sighs, "Seems like just yesterday she was just a baby,"

"A tadpole," Lance still can't wrap his mind around it,

"She is still young," Tellru chuckles to Dravla, "Not much has changed, honestly. Except for her new action of hitting things she likes," she glared at Keith for that.

He glances away, "Still don't think she got that from me,"

"I'm positive she got it from you," Dravla grumbles at him. "Who knows what else she has picked up from you with the way you two tiptoe around the fact that you adore each other,"

'T-Tiptoe-?" Lance gasped on air, "W-We don't-"

"You do," Tellru pat his shoulder. It wasn't helping the blood rushing to his cheeks.

Keith wasn't handling the comment well either and tried to hit Dravla. "Stop avoiding me!" he snapped when the Coeihn dodged.

"I'm just saying,"

"No! You are being a troll!"

Dravla blinked, "I don't know what that is,"

"It is something that doesn't mind its own business!" Keith takes another swing at him.

"It is hard when I see you two every day! I mean, come on! It is obvious! You two are the only ones who don't realize!"

"Shut up!" Lance and Keith belt at him. "I don't want to hear anything from you!" Keith adds, "Besides, you are just jealous that ruru is taking after me and not you,"

"What do you mean by that?" Dravla demanded, eye's wide.

"She takes after Tellru a lot. She is beautiful and smart, but she would be cursed if she ever took anything after you. No offense," Dravla gasped in insult. Keith smirks a little, playful. "Just saying~' he mimics his words.

"Ooohhhh," Lance and Tellru say behind them, snickering

Always one for a fight, Lance sighed when he realized that Dravla had fallen for the bait. "...You starting something?" he narrowed his eyes at the smaller human.

"Maybe,"

"Why you.. You have brought forth my rage," Dravla smirks and gets to his feet. Keith starts running before Dravla can even bend his knees.

"Run Keith Run!' Lance cackled from the bench, watching as Dravla chased Keith around the play set. It was actually kind of comedic with their height difference- like a Father chasing around his son.

Though that probably isn't what the two of them were thinking right not.

The two were leaping over slides and swings, tumbling past gawking children and face planting into the dirt more than once.

Keith had never had to run so fast in his life- it should be cheating that Dravla was so much taller than him. It made it easier for him to catch up.

Knowing he would have to use tactics to outrun him, Keith ducked and weaved through the area, using his small form to squeeze through tight spaces when Dravla could not. They had kept it up for quite some time- Keith almost considered this a great type of training.

He would have to tell Shiro about it later.

If he ever saw Shiro again.

"Ah-ha!" Dravla leaped up to the platform Keith had run up to. Caught of guard, Keith's foot slipped. "Gotcha!" Dravla tackled him down the slide in one large heap. Kids cackled at the sight, cheering when they landed in the mud below.

The rolled and yelled- refusing to end their brawl till Tellru crossed the park to them.

"Boys, come on," she folded her arms over them, watching the both pathetically slap the other. "You are making a scene,"

"He started it!" Dravla insisted.

"We'll I'll finish it!" Grabbing them both by the ears, she tugged them to their feet, "You are more childish then Ruru!" They whined, and grabbed for their ears when she released them. "Come on," she sighs, "Let's head home and have some dinner to celebrate Ruru's performance."

Perking up, the two nodded. Tired and sweaty from running around so much, they trudged back to the bench where Keith had left Lance.

He wasn't there.

Keith turned to look around, but couldn't spot him. "Lance?" He called. Having expected him to go run off with Ruru at some point, he couldn't seem to see either of them anywhere. "Where did they go?"

Realizing he meant both their daughter and Paladin in question, Tellru straightened her back to eye the area. Pursing her lips, she shrugs, "Ruru? Lance? Come on, let's go!" she called into the distance. They never called back.

Dravla dabbed at the sweat on his brow "They go to the bathroom?"

She isn't sure and shakes her head, "They were right there a second ago."

Dravla went to check the bathrooms and water fountains, finding nothing there as well.

10 minutes passed and there was no sign of them.

Keith started to feel paranoid, something ugly pulling at his heart. His fast walk was slowly increasing in speed, breaking into a full sprint. He couldn't find them. The playset, the swings, around the trees and bushes, he couldn't find them. He couldn't find Lance.

"Ruru!" Dravla began to yell her name in case she was somewhere they just couldn't see.

Feeling a panic starting to sweep in their chests and they started to realize something wasn't right.

"Lance! Lance?!" Keith screamed till his throat hurts, "Ruru! Lance!" Rounding back to where they last saw him he ran into Tellru, "I can't find them!" his voice feels raw

"Me either-" she was biting her thumb. Spotting a few other parents she ran to them. Pulling out a picture of Ruru she showed it to them, desperate to know if they saw her. Most of them shrugged, not really sure

Keith couldn't breath.

Lance had been threatened for weeks now- all aiming for his life. How could he have just left him alone like that?! He was gone for just a few minutes- just a few simple minutes.

Sometimes a few minutes was all a person needed.

"Tellru Keith!" Dravla was by the gate into the park, knelt down to the ground. When they ran to him he turned with a small orange ribbon in his palm. It was Ruru's

Keith thought he was seeing stars when Dravla lifted up something else. Every breath came out ragged, like he was trying to breath through broken glass.

With a hesitant look, Dravla placed a broken chain in Keith's palm. He didn't need to look to know what it was, but he did anyway.

The traditional tie he had gotten for Lance lay within his grasp, forcefully torn away from Lance's slender neck and tossed to the ground like garbage.

Like a fungus, something dark crept through Keith's nerves.

 _Rage_

Cold fingers slipped to his bayard. He was going to go find Lance and Ruru and the ones that took them, and when he did…

He was going to end them.


	17. Love punched Part two

When a hand had wrapped around his mouth, Lance had screamed. His own voice was muffled noise, barely able to reach his own ears.

The Coeihn that had grabbed him had planned it perfectly- not a soul was watching. He had managed to snag Lance right towards the water fountains when Ruru had needed a drink.

Who knows how long this Coeihn had been following them, waiting patiently for Lance to be alone and then striking.

His arms were pinned behind him before he could even start to panic, his body lifted like a sack of potatoes. Another set of hands grabbed his ankles- there were at least three of them. He could somewhat see their faces but everything was too blurry to make out much.

They were trying to move him- take him somewhere no one could see.

He screamed and kicked and thought of Keith.

It was pathetic that he couldn't seem to get out of any situation without him- but he couldn't help but desperately try and call out his name.

("Hurry up!") He couldn't tell what the one of the Coeihns had said, but he sounded rushed.

Knowing he would have no chance unless he got some ground he kicked and pulled. He wiggled, turning, thrashing as violent as he could.

They were trying to make a break for the gate. Perhaps they thought they could simply grab him and run? The very idea pissed him off enough and he tried to take a bite at the hand covering his mouth.

" _Lala_?" His blood ran cold. Lance's flailing had gone against the Coeihns timing, forcing them to linger just a second too long.

Ruru, oblivious at first, had walked out of the restroom. She spotted them instantly; her eyes grew wide with fright. She opened her mouth and tried to scream. One lunged at her, covering her mouth, desperate to silence her before she could.

She thrashed, clawing at the man's face. He grunted, lifting her.

("The Champion's child!")

The kidnappers were panicking with Ruru present. They were unsure of what to do with her and were yelling at each other to figure it out. They were already lifting her up, struggling to cease her kicking.

("Just take them both!") The leader of the three yelled in a hushed whisper

("She is the champion and translator's child! They will have us torn to pieces if they discover us!")

("We have no choice! Take them both. We will return the girl when the job is done!") They were pulling them both to the gates.

Lance was enraged when he realized they were bringing Ruru along. She had nothing to do with this!

He wanted to tell them to let her go, but even if they weren't covering his mouth, his words wouldn't have made sense to them. Whether he liked it or not, she was joining this hell ride.

From the corner of his eye, he watches Ruru go suddenly still. Her gaze locked with his, and she turned her head against the Coeihns shoulder. Her hair caught along their armor, and her ribbon snapped in two.

As it fell, her hair trickled down to her shoulders. The Coeihn holding her didn't seem to care and kept going.

What he hadn't seemed to take into account was the forgotten ribbon- the only trace to the direction they were being dragged off to.

Brilliant.

An undoubtedly taught by her parents in case such things ever happened.

("What the hell are we going to do about the girl?!") They were bickering amongst each other.

("As I said, we return her at the end,")

("She's gotten our scents! She'll know who we are and tell her Father!")

He couldn't tell what either of the two were saying, but he could tell one was staring at him. Well, more like glaring.

He was bigger than the other three, and the main one to keep his arms pinned. The anger that festered in his eyes was unnerving, and all of it was focused on him. Not sure what he had done to upset the alien, he wasn't prepared for what happened next.

His hand, thick and strong, reached towards him.

Lance gave a muffled scream when he wrapped his palm around his thin neck.

("He dare wear a traditional tie?") The Coeihn seethed. Nails scratched against his throat as they gripped the chain, giving it a sharp tug.

The metal tore apart easily, crashing to the floor.

Lance yelled.

Keith had gotten him that! He kicked the Coeihn in the rebuttal. Furious, they grabbed his ankle and turned his leg the other way. Lance thought it would snap in two, but the other Coeihns stopped him.

("Not here,") they reprimanded him. Huffing, they shuffled out of the park, barely able to avoid the gaze of others. They took them down back allies, avoiding the main streets as much as possible.

With how big of a place this was, Lance was positive that Keith would never be able to catch up or track them down.

But Ruru was clever.

Wonderfully, amazingly clever.

He refused to linger his gaze on her too much, not wanting to alarm the three kidnappers- but he could see what she was planning. Her Parents had taught her well, and she was using the fact that these Coeihns cared more about him to her advantage.

While she was small, and light, the Coeihn carrying her barely gave much of an effort to hold her still- just concerned himself with covering her mouth. This gave her a little bit of free range with her hands.

She was reaching for her braces, lifting her knees just enough to grip the metal attached to them. Slowly, carefully, she removed the screws that lined the paddings. Holding them within her palm, she blinked wide eyes at him.

She was terrified, but something deep burned within her gaze. A small spark of courage, a willingness to fight. He had seen the same look in Tellru's eyes when she stood up to Rashra, or Dravla whenever he stepped into the Arena to fight.

With a quiet communication, inspired by that glint, Lance would shake a little with every turn they would take. This caught the attention of the three Coeihns long enough for Ruru to subtly drop a screw without any of them noticing.

Ruru was the coolest kid he had ever met.

This was their own messed up version of Hansel and Gretel and by the stars, he was definitely not going to allow either of them to get gobbled up by some witch.

He could only hope that Keith and the others would see the screws. But, knowing that Ruru seemed to be prepared for something like this, he was positive Tellru and Dravla would be looking for them.

("Hey!") The Coeihns stopped when one of the three yelled. ("What are we waiting for? We just kill him and leave,") the large one, the one who Lance dislike the most, was barking something angrily.

("It is too open here. We take them to the requested location,") the leader says sourly. They had gone a few blocks before Lance realized they had somewhere specifically planned to take him. Which meant he had to do everything he could to either stop them from getting there or delay them long enough for the others to catch up.

("The request was to kill the blue Champion- why does it matter if it is here or the Eastern wall?") The Coeihn, who Lance will now call _Pinhead,_ demanded. Man he wishes he knew what they were saying.

("Because that is what we were hired for, you moron!") The second snapped. Pinhead turned on him, shoving him. Ruru almost slipped from his grasp when he shoved pinhead back.

A fight. A chance.

Lance swung hard.

His foot collided with the Coeihn that was holding his knees, catching him right between the eyes. They yelped and fell over, and his legs fell with him.

 _Like hell he was just going to go with these creeps_.

With that thought, he threw his head back and collided it with Pinhead's nose. It cracked, and he slipped free.

By the time his feet hit the ground, Ruru was already biting at her kidnappers arm, right at the juncture around the elbow.

Acting quickly, Lance rammed into the first Coeihn he could. They had to get away. They couldn't fight right now. Just run.

Just-

Ruru yelled.

They had hit her- backhanded her to the ground.

Lance saw a flash of red.

He slammed his fist into the Coeihn, cracking his jaw.

Hand to hand was never his specialty, and maybe if he was thinking straight he would have reached for his Bayard, but he wasn't.

He was pissed.

You never, _ever,_ lay a hand on Ruru.

One swing, two- his fist connected against skin with blind precision. He had the upper hand for a short time, but it only lasted so long with two other Coeihns present. Outnumbered, he couldn't block the shove to his right, or the knee colliding with his gut. They pummeled him, knocking him to the floor.

A hand had wrapped around his throat faster than he could react, lifting him. Lance scrambled to grip their wrists, tugging and pulling to get him to release him, all the while staring into those dark eyes.

Their grip tightened.

This Coeihn was going to kill him.

Fear coursed through him, clouding his mind.

Like some primal instinct he lifted his Bayard and activated it as the body slammed into him.

Heavy breathing, hands on his throat, crazed eyes locked with his, the threat of death.

 _Of death._

 _Of death…!_

He fired.

A sickening warm and red liquid splattered across his chest and face.

The body above him let out an unsightly yell, gasped something, and fell limp. Crushed below the body, Lance could not longer hear the heavy breathing, the grip on his throat, or the crazed look in the Coeihns eyes.

The only thing he could hear was bounding in his ears. The Coeihn wasn't breathing.

He screamed and screamed.

And then, he called for Keith.

He cried out for him till his voice cracked, leaving it raw and stinging. He cried for him till he was tugged off the ground and a blade, seeking vengeance for the fallen, was lifted towards his chest.

He cried for him, wishing to see him one last time before everything ended.

He cried, wanting to go home.

He cried.

He wanted Keith.

* * *

 **KEITH**

 _"I feel better when I can hold on to you. " _Lance had blushed after he spoke these words. It seemed so long ago when they were stuck in those cells, barely able to reach across and grab the other's hand and hold it close.

Keith hadn't realized how much he relied on Lance's touch that day. How much his words had been true not just for him, but for Keith as well.

He had come to expect and require Lance's presence next to him to feel at ease. Being away from him made him feel anxious and unsettled.

Not knowing where he was in his absence was worse.

It made him want to tear this town apart.

" _LANCE!"_ the sound reverberated through the street, bouncing off the walls and then settling, like dust to the wind, "WHERE ARE YOU?!" _Something give him a sign. Tell him where to go- where to look- how to make this right!_ "LANCE!"

Only the beating of his heart answered him.

Slowly, in a daze, he turned in a full circle.

 _" I'll be whatever you want me to be, Keith,"_

He could picture it- like a vision in his head, he could see Lance. He was smiling, carefree and happy, just like he should be.

 _"I love them..."_

His grip tightened around the traditional tie. _Oh god… where was he? Where was he?!_

" _"I just wanted to see you as fast as possible."_

Was this how lance had felt then? The urge, the unpremeditated need to do virtually anything to assure Lance returned to his side?

Was this so much to ask, that Lance just stays safe? He was never cruel, or unkind to anyone they met- so why was everything so insistent on hurting him?

On taking Lance from… from him?

"Lance!"

Coeihns were staring at them.

Screw 'em.

He couldn't talk to them anyway- they were useless to him. And, though he knew it was wrong to judge an entire race for the actions of a few, he couldn't help but hate them. Not to say he felt that way for Tellru, Dravla or Ruru. Not even to Harri or Manson- no. No he rather enjoyed their company.

However more times then not, it was Coeihns that were the cause of their problems.

At least for now.

They were paladins after all- even if they were to get off of this planet and back to Voltron, they would still be threatened daily by Galra, Zarkon, and other threats.

But at least then his lion, safely secure in the cockpit, would most likely shield Lance. That was the case right now.

Right now, Lance was alone, with an injury to his eyes that put him at a disadvantage.

He was where Keith couldn't get to him.

"Keith!" A rough hand tugged him back. "Hold on,"

He turned to Tellru, almost forgetting she was there and lashing out, "Hold on?!" he demanded.

"Yes," she snipped at him and motioned to Dravla. He was knelt to the ground, something small and silver clutched between his grasp.

He inhaled deeply, and lifted his head in a specific direction. He had found something.

Suddenly, he was moving, sprinting down the road, like a dog that suddenly picked up a scent. Keith and Tellru rushed after him, watching as he turned the corner and knelt down again.

Once again he lifted something small and silver, "Ruru," he confirms. Relief and pride swelled in his voice as he lifted something towards them.

A screw?

"What is that?" Keith frowned.

"From her braces," Tellru took it delicately, cradling it like it was something precious, "That's my girl," she brushed a tear from her eyes, composing herself.

Like breadcrumbs, Ruru had left them a trail.

Keith released a breath he was holding, brokenly saying, "I'm going to give that girl the biggest hug I can,"

"I'm going to buy her those pink glowing shoes she wanted," Dravla clears his throat and gets up. "The trail leads this way, come on," They are running, scanning the ground for the next screw.

Keith had been the one to find it, motioning to a dark alleyway. Dravla didn't hesitate to move down it.

"They don't want to be seen." He concludes, "They will use all the back alleys and less busy streets,"

"Where in the world could they be taking them?" Tellru grumbled, "Why would they take Ruru?"

"I doubt they want her- she probably just walked in at the wrong moment,"

Keith hated the thought of that. You should never involve children, no matter who their parents are or what they see- it wasn't right. For the time, they could consider themselves lucky that she was brought along- her bread trail was the only thing keeping his mind focused enough not to pull out his Bayard and just start swinging.

One, two, three screws- they were running, knowing Ruru's braces only had so many. If they couldn't catch up to them before she ran out, they were out of luck.

Hopefully Lance and Ruru had devised enough of the plan to make sure their kidnappers took as much time as possible to get them were they were going.

Lance was smart. Even if most didn't agree, Keith knew- Lance was brilliant. He was always thinking, sometimes overthinking, every little detail.

He could delay them. He could assure Keith got there on time. He could-

 _BAAM_

There was the sound of a gun firing. Keith recognized it as someone would recognize the sound of their own door bell- it was Lance's Bayard.

" _KEITH!"_

That's when he hears the scream. So full of fear that it ices his blood cold.

He forgets where he is, what his own name is, leaving only a single thought coursing through his being: _He must reach him. He must protect him_.

With a turn of his heels, he runs wildly in the direction of the voice, heedless of danger.

It was Lance calling for him- for Keith to help him. To take him away from the danger and hold him- tell him everything was going to be okay.

Keith ripped through the pausing crowds, leaping over a fence.

Faster, run faster, get there. Make it!

He heard could hear Ruru yelling this time. It was coming from that street! He barreled towards it.

Just a little more-

It was when he heard the squelching sound of a blade piercing skin and Lance wail in agony that Keith knew he had failed.

He had made a quiet promise during the first few days they arrived in the strange world: Lance would be safe. Keith would protect him. Nothing would harm him again now that he was by his side.

A gurgling choke of a noise echoed to his ears. He had betrayed Lance. He wasn't fast enough.

" _Lance_?!" When Keith rounded the corner the world stopped.

The scene played out before him in slow motion.

Lance was pinned high to the wall by his throat and shoulders, with his legs dangling limply below him. Two Coeihns loomed over him; a third lay unmoving on the ground.

One of the Coeihns was holding a sword, plunging it into Lance's body.

 _No._

 _No!_

A step forward allowed him a better angle of the scene. They had stabbed his arm, an injury that Lance could live from.

The Coeihns might have struck Lance's heart, had it not been for Ruru.

She was at the Coeihns legs, something sharp in her hands. She had removed one of the support poles of her braces, imbedding the metal into the sensitive knee of their attackers.

The wound had been enough to knock his attack off course, stabbing his sword too far to the right and missing Lance's heart, and instead delving into the top of his forearm.

Lance withered in pain, but he was alive.

He was injured.

Another thing had hurt him.

Another thing was threatening to give lance another nightmare in the night. Another thing to fear. Another thing to have that perfect smile wavering.

A sound of barking anger and the Coeihn that had been stabbed was reaching down, grabbing a handful of Ruru's hair and chucking her to the side.

The blade was forcefully ripped from Lance's arm, warm and very red liquid drizzling down it to the handle. Keith's eyes followed the flowing trail till it began to fall from the blade.

 _Drip_

His body jolted violently.

 _Drip_

Lance's cries enveloped his world

 _Drip_

His Bayard was being summoned

 _Drip_

He roared.

It was crackling in his throat and tearing through the silence.

The Coeihns turned, then stumbled back as the red paladin rammed into them.

Their grasp tore from Lance's shirt and he fell into awaiting arms.

Foggy but blue eyes went wide with surprise, snapping to look up at his savior

"Keith…!" Broken joy pulled at his lips. "Keith!" They hug. Keith can feel every quiver from Lance's body, and he can feel it... The blood. It's pouring from his arm.

Something is snapping in him.

With a kiss to Lance's brow, he lowers him to the ground, gentle but rushed. "Stay here,"

"Keith…" Lance gasped, "Keith watch out-!" The Coeihns were back on their feet and charging at him.

Without even turning Keith slammed the hilt of his Bayard into the jaw of the closest Coeihns. It was brutal; cracking it the moment impact occurred.

With a turn, Keith went wild.

Slicing, punching, destroying. With a heavy slice, something heavy hit the ground.

An arm.

Lance could hardly watch, bile rising from his stomach. "K…" He had sliced off the arm of one of the Coeihn with little effort- barely even lingering on the fact long enough before he was swinging again.

They were screaming, pleading for mercy. They received none as Keith grabbed one roughly by their hand and threw them to the floor. Stepping over it, he held it down with a slam of his foot to their chest, "How dare you…" The red paladin seethed.

He lifted his Bayard.

There were words tossed into the air.

Stop.

Keith didn't hear it.

It cried out again, falling to deaf ears.

Nothing seemed to register in Keith's mind as the blade delved into the soft skin of the Coeihns chest.

They screamed, withering in aguish at his fingertips. He enjoyed the sensation.

He enjoyed making this alien suffer.

Once. Twice. He lifted his blade up and down violently.

 _Die_

 _Get out of his sight_

 _Get out of his world_

 _Never come close to Lance_

 _Never make him suffer again!_

The sound of the cry dully registered in his head once more.

He hoisted his Bayard up for the third time

" _Stop!"_ Something threw themselves upon Keith, wrapping their arms around his torso, trapping one of his wrists, "Stop Keith- stop!" they pleaded into his shoulder.

Keith turned against it- he had to make this Alien pay. Had to make sure that others would learn through him to never mess with Lance again.

Had to-

Two hands, soft and trembling, reached out for him. They cupped the back of his neck slowly but persistently turning it in the other direction.

Away from the Coeihn.

Away from his rage.

He could feel the presence of chapped lips.

They pressed delicately against his own- wet and distressed.

When they pulled away, a single word slipped from them before they kissed him again, "Keith… Kei-" it was Lance.

 _Lance. Lance. Lance._

He was pulling Keith away from the Coeihn. Mouth to mouth, he managed to get hem a short distance apart,

Keith followed, too stunned and caught up in this little moment to think straight. All he could think about was Lance and something else. It was strange, pulsing in the back of his mind like a plague,

" _My Lance,"_ the voice said, " _My precious Lance,"_

Because Lance was.

He was precious. He was so precious to Keith and had been for a while- it just took a while for that thought to surface.

His rage was leaving him as Lance tilted his head to kiss his cheek and exhaustion was taking its place.

A kiss was placed along his jaw, his eyelids, his nose, forehead- they splattered across his skin delicately, pulling him back into this surreal world where it was just Lance and him.

"I'm here…" the crack in Lance's tone was too startling.

Realizing he was crying, catching each sob with the brush of their lips, Keith embraced him.

"Don't' cry," he pleaded into his shoulder. Lance should never be pushed to tears because of fear or loss- it wasn't right. It was something Keith should have protected him from.

Lifting his hand, he brushed it against the side of Lance's face. He leaned into it.

Keith could hardly breath when he tugged the blue paladin into a crushing embrace.

His mind was clearing.

 _What did he just do?  
Wha- had he- the Coeihn was…_

 _They weren't moving. They weren't breathing._

"Shh," Lance hushed him. Peeking over his shoulder, Keith could see the others. He didn't know when Dravla and Tellru had arrived on the scene, or how much of that they had scene.

Probably enough, considering the wide look of quiet horror they were giving him. Ruru was in their arms, her face buried in her mother's chest as she sobbed. Had she seen that as well?

Stillness was an unwelcomed presence.

Two Coeihn lay on the ground, dead. The third was gone, having fled the scene.

It was over.

Everything was over.

Dravla's voice was amplified by the quiet, despite how soft he spoke, "Let us leave," startled, they all flinch, but nod.

Keith didn't move initially. He couldn't.

He found the will too when Lance gave a light kiss to his eyebrow. "Let's go, Keith," he whispered, pleading with him gently. He tensed when Keith had lifted him up, cradling his form. "Keith…" he mumbled, "I can walk by myself," when Keith refused to reply, he thinned his lips and buried his head into his neck

He supposed he could allow this for today.

He would allow Keith to carry him like a bride, his hands so gentle and so warm that Lance wanted to cry

Maybe he did a little.

He was too tired to tell

The guards were called, and Dravla explained the situation. Keith would have a hearing with the King in two days time, and the Coeihns in question would be looked into, as well as whoever had hired them.

A few guard were insistent that Keith be placed into holding till then, but King Manson told them otherwise. Dravla had informed him of what happened, and he agreed that in the end, it was all a matter of self-defense.

That would be called upon more at the hearing, but for now, Keith was free to stay by Lance's side.

Like hell Lance was going to let him get taken away again in the first place, but he was grateful that Manson understood.

They stayed at Dravla and Tellru place for the night since everyone was too exhausted to make the trip back up to the upper districts.

They would be staying in the guest room.

"We have a cleansing room," Tellru tells them gently. She eyes theirs clothes, wrinkled with drying blood. "If you require it, then it is down the hall to the right. I've placed some clothes and towels there," with a final glance, she leaves them alone. Her tone was very unlike her- quiet and weary. Lance couldn't blame her.

When Keith doesn't even acknowledge that Tellru was there, Lance nudges him.

He doesn't budge, his gaze down casted, his fingers tightening around Lance's.

"Keith," Lance leans into him, grabbing his chin. Turning it to face him, he says, "Go wash up."

His eyes slowly rise, peering at Lance quietly.

"Come with me,"

His quiet plea was enough to make Lance's heart melt. "You wanna bath together?" he tries to tease, bumping his temple affectionately with his nose.

There is a heavy pause, and Keith flops back into him, exhausted. Lance doesn't expect this and they fall back against the spare bed. "I don't want to take you out of my sight," he admits, turning to face Lance "Is that- that is weird, right?"

"No," Lance says, shifting a little against the mattress "I think it is fair. Every time you do something seems to go wrong,"

Keith squishes Lance's face between his palms, "Why is that?" he demands, like Lance would know the answer, "Why is danger just drawn to you? Why are you a danger magnet?"

"Like I'm the only one," he scoffs. "Tellru and Dravla are right down the hall- got take a bath. You smell like blood," he points out down at himself, Keith grimaces. "I- yeah, I do. Sorry," he is already unzipping his jacket. Pausing, he glances at the door then to Lance. The torn expression is the most adorable thing lance had ever witnessed, "You could still come with me," he offers.

Glancing down at himself, Keith grimaces. "I- yeah, I do. Sorry," he is already unzipping his jacket. Pausing, he glances at the door then to Lance. The torn expression is the most adorable thing lance had ever witnessed, "You could still come with me," he offers.

"Once again, you are offering that we bathe together." Lance tells him, "Are you listening to yourself right now?"

"We bathed together before," Keith grumbles. Was he pouting?

"That was in a much bigger bath- judging by the size of this house, Tellru and Dravla's _cleansing room_ isn't even going to be 1/3 the size of the one back at the apartment. We would be squished up against each other."

"..."

Not expecting the blush to dust his face, and the realization that Keith was _still_ considering this even after what Lance said, he averts his gaze. "T-There wouldn't be any room to actually make sure we get clean…" Lance insists through the stuttering of his heart.

"Y-Yeah. Of course, right," Keith nods quickly, flustered. In his panic, he lifted his hands towards Lance. Not even sure himself what he was about to do he waved them around the front of his face awkwardly- the slammed them against lance's cheeks.

He leaned forward, eyes in a panic. Today's events had thrown him off, making him anxious, nervous- he didn't know what was right or wrong anymore.

They share a kiss.

It is small, barely a peck of lips.

And it has both of them pulling back with flushing cheeks and ragged breaths.

"G-Go hurry up and take your bath," Lance shooes him, knowing if he opened his eyes… he might just agree to go with him.

Keith is stumbling out of the bed and out of the room with a nod.

While he was gone, Lance removed his jacket. The Coeihns blood had already seeped into it, staining it. He sighs, placing it to the side.

He could still feel the weight of his Bayard in his hands and the recoil of it when he fired into the Coeihns chest.

Had he killed them?

Of course he had, he wasn't breathing by the end of the day.

The thought made his stomach twist. He hadn't meant to… They had just- they were trying to kill him. They hurt Ruru.

He didn't have a choice. He didn't-

He should have said yes to Keith's offer. Or Keith should at least hurry back already so he can hug him. He couldn't seem to stop shacking.

"Lala?" Ruru stood at the door, looking smaller than usual.

He turned, "Ruru. Hey, sweetpea," he held out his arms. She ran into them sniffling. Crawling up into his lap, Lance fell back and held her. "Hey… shhh, no. It is alright,"

He had never wanted anyone to get hurt from this. For them to worry about him.

It was worse that he got her involved- she even got hurt.

"I'm so sorry Ruru," he whispered, brushing his thumb carefully against her cheeks and along the bruise. "This is all my fault,"

She shook her head, "No…"

"Yes it is," he tells her, "If it wasn't for me, this would have never happened to you." He pulls away to smile at her, "You were so brilliant today, sweetpea. You saved us,"

She hiccupped, shaking at his words. When tears streamed from her eyes, he embraced her again, "I know you get made fun of for your braces but- if it wasn't for them, the others wouldn't have found us. You saved us, Ruru. You saved me. Thank you,"

She clung to him until Keith returned, bathed and staring at them mournfully. Looking wounded, he turned his gaze when Ruru looked back at him. He couldn't look her in the eye.

She got up and walked to him. He tensed at her approach, fisting the edges of his shirt nervously. To Lance horror, he realized that Keith was expecting her to call him a monster.

"Ruru… I'm so sorr-" she took out his knees. Falling back, he hit the ground hard. When he sat up to question her, she hugged him.

"I love Keef," she tells him. "I love Keef," she repeats the phrase, over and over, refusing to stop until he understood. With shaky fingers, he hugged her back, burying his face into her shoulder.

Knowing they needed a moment, Lance gets to his feet and tiptoes around them, patting Keith's head quietly. He sniffs in response and Lance leaves the room. Moving down the hall, he paused to peek into the kitchen. Dravla was seated at the table; staring at the drink he had yet to taken a sip of.

"…Dravla?"

Lance doesn't expect a smile from him, "You going to the cleansing room?"

"I… y-yeah,"

"Alright. Make sure you head to bed soon," he instructs gently. Lance wants to say more, to tell Dravla to be furious with him, to hate him…

He can't.

"Are you…" he doesn't know what to say. Dravla takes up the moment for him.

"As the 5th champion, my life has been threatened more times then I can count. As the 5th champion, the life of my Equivalent and my child have also been threatened multiple times. There was a reason we taught Ruru that little trick… this has happened before." He gets to his feet and stride across the room in three easy steps. Placing a hand on lance's shoulder he says, "I know how you feel right now. It isn't fair to drag others into danger because someone has a quarrel with you… but you can't decide the actions of others. You can only do your best to prepare for when those times come," he reaches around Lance and pats his back, the hug brief but impactful

"Dravla…"

"Everything will be alright, Lance. Go get washed up,"

Biting his lower lip, he nods. Knowing he will start crying if he doesn't leave now, he shoots out of the room and down the hall to the cleansing room. He was right; this is a lot smaller then the one at the apartment. The size of a normal earth bathtub.

Stepping into the bath, Lance washed the blood off his arms and hands as soon as he could. Over and over he scrubbed, hating how he still sensed it there.

It wouldn't go away.

He at least was mindful of the wound to his arm. He honestly couldn't recall when they had bandaged it, but that didn't really matter now.

"Lance?" there was a tap at the door. He jolted in surprise but relaxed when he realized Keith was standing on the other side. "You almost done?"

"No," he admits. "I kind of- I like to take baths till the water gets cold,"

"It's okay. I'll wait back at-"

"Wait- don't leave!" Lance calls to him. Surprised in himself for requesting such a thing he was about to take it back, but then something slumps against the door.

"Okay,"

"Are… you sure?" Lance inquired.

"It's fine. I don't want to leave either."

"Oh…"

They talk between the door about nothing in particular. The play, the lunch they had… anything to avoid discussing what had happened a few hours before.

"I'd like to go back to the beach," Lance tells him. Nothing horrible happened at the beach. They went an entire day of just relaxation when they did.

"Then we'll go back," Keith tells him, "I'll help you collect shells again,"

"Maybe you can actually go into the water with me this time," Lance feels relieved when he can chuckle.

"I don't like water,"

"We won't go deep," he assures him. "Just a little bit… to our knees maybe,"

Keith surprises him when he agrees, "Okay. Just a little… For you,"

Lance is hoping out of the bath, almost slipping on the ground. Scrambling to get his towel, he poorly dries himself off, changes into his new clothes, and dives for the door.

Throwing it open, his hair still soaked, Lance didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around Keith's shoulders. They hugged in the middle of the hall, they kiss, and they hug again.

 _For you._

 _For you._

Lance wanted to do anything for Keith.

"It is okay to just sit on the beach too." He tells Keith, "We can make a big sandcastle,"

"That didn't really work out so well," he mumbled into his shoulder.

"We would have all day to perfect it," hand in hand, they return to their room. Sleep was calling to them, and the blue paladin plopped back onto the mattress.

Lance lifted his arms, and Keith slide into them, resting his head on Lance's chest, listening to his steady heartbeat.

They were shaking. Had they both become murderers today?  
"Thank you for coming for me today," Lance whispers to him.

"Like I would just leave you behind,"

"I know..." Keith isn't looking at him, "Keith…?"

"I should have gotten there faster,"

"Keith no-"

"I killed that Coeihn,"

"I did… I did too," Lance chokes out, "But we're alive…I'm alive," Lance tells him.

Keith inhaled, held it, then released it, "You're here."  
"I'm here."

"You were just starting to heal," Keith whispered quietly between them. He examined Lance's fingers. His bruises had faded to the point where you couldn't see them as clearly as before.

His side injury was closed and wouldn't reopen anymore.

But now he had a new scar to add to his list.

Keith hated the sight of it, "I should have gotten there sooner,"

"Don't do that to yourself," lance pleaded wit him, "We're paladins of Voltron Keith- getting a bruise or a cut somewhere is part of the job."

"That wasn't us being paladins… We aren't paladin's right now,"

"Then what are we, Keith?"

He couldn't answer because he didn't know. "I'm still figuring that out,"

The next seconds were filled with Lance shifting them both till their heads were turned to each other, lips pressed to lips.

Caught of guard, like he always was with everything lance managed to do, Keith is speechless. With wide eyes and flushing cheeks, he trails a hand up to his lips. They shivered, already missing the warmth of Lance's mouth, "Wha-?"

"Sneak attack," the softness in Lance's voice almost undid him. It pulled threateningly at Keith's seems- like overflowing water, threatening to pour out something strange. Something new.

Something wonderful.

Keith reaches between them, looping a finger through the chain on lance's neck. With his knuckle bumping the ring attached, he gave it a sharp tug and pulled Lance's face back down, stealing his own kiss.

"Counter attack," he whispers to Lance's startled face, cupping it with his other hand. Lance shivers when Keith runs a thumb across his lower lip- as if to silently say, _these are mine._

Lance would be lying if he said he didn't think Keith being possessive was the hottest thing in the galaxy.

"How sneaky of you," he says in a more airy tone that he originally intended, playfully nipping at Keith's thumb. He pulled back with a small smile, trailing his fingers along Lance's cheek. Then, the warmth of his fingers moved up to his eyes. Lance closed them, allowing Keith to gentle prod and poke at his scar.

"It's ugly," Lance says

"It's just different, that is all. Your still…" He cuts himself off. Lance opens his eyes slowly, clouded blue meeting light purple.

"Say what you were going to say,"

The silence follows, bringing a foreign sense of intimacy that neither had experienced before. Despite everything that had happened to them thus far, this was different. It was gentle, cautious…

Keith thinks of what he is about to say next, but it is too intimate, so he tries to think of something else to say.

He says it anyway when Lance blinked at him, wide and curious and just stunning.

"Beautiful," He reached up and took a curl of Lance hair between his fingers. He was close enough that Keith could feel the warmth of his body, smell the soap he used on his skin and the shampoo in his hair. "You're beautiful Lance,"

Lance's hand quiver, and he lifts them. Covering his eyes, he lurches forward, pressing his nose to Keith's shoulders. "You can't just suddenly tell me that,"

"You won't ever understand unless I tell you what I'm thinking..." the red paladin mutters, flattening his hands along the other's back.

"Since when did you ever think that?" Lance mumbled.

"Always,"

"Shut up,"

"I mean it,"

There is a tap to Lance's chest. He glanced down curiously, watching Keith's fist continuously tap his chest and shoulders. Like small punches, he covers his upper body with them, saying nothing.

"Um…" Lance raised his eyebrows "What?" he was hit again and recoiled, "What?" he asks a little more persistently.

"I…" Keith hits him again. None of the punches hurt and we in fact very gentle, but there was not meaning to them that Lance could understand.

"Are you angry?"

"No…"

"Then stop hitting me," Lance frowns.

Keith couldn't look at him, "I… need to tell you," he hits him.

"Tell me what?"

Keith hits him again,

"Keith-"

"I punch things I like…!" Keith's knuckles delicately connect with Lance's lips, lingering. "Things I really like, but not always cause I punch things I don't like too but… b-but… But I punch gently when I cherish them…" he pressed his fist forward a little, barely grazing Lance's lips once more, "

Lance pondered for a second too long if this was a confession. Knowing that, obviously yeah, it was, he exhaled deeply.

A warm emotion was fluttering in his stomach, and he lifted a hand to grip Keith's wrist.

When Lance kissed the knuckles hovering over his mouth, the red paladin jolted a little.

"I kiss the things I like…" Lance explains

He startles Keith when he attacks his hand with small kisses. He loved Keith's hands.

Gripping the finger of the glove between his teeth lance pulled. Keith sucked in a breath, eyes locked with the sight, shivering as the glove slide from his palm.

Dropping the glove, lance pressed light kisses to his skin. .

Taking a second to hesitate, he peeked up and Keith and opened his mouth. Keith gasped quietly as lance sucked his fingers into his mouth, suckling delicately on them

It should have been gross.

It should have been weird.

It definitely shouldn't have been hot.

"You bruised your hand," Lance whispers sensually, "Does it hurt?"

Keith can't speak for a long time, and when he does, it comes out in a voice too shaky to be considered his own, "No,"

"I'm glad…" His smile is small, barely there.

Something moves in Keith's chest that he isn't prepared for, travelling throughout his entire body.

"L-Lance…" he says in a voice he doesn't' recognize. He paused, glancing at him. "I never got to…" he hesitates then says, "I never got to answer you before,"

Lance tilts his head in a way that is adorable in Keith's eyes, "Hmm?"

"You asked if I was attracted to you,"

Lance's freezes, clutching Keith's hand in a numb grip, "Oh…" he swallowed.. Feeling heavy, he wondered why he suddenly felt so afraid to hear the answer, "And what were you going to say to that?"

Keith leaned forward, pressing his face deep into Lance's shoulder. Safely tucked away, and with his face out of sight, he says, "That I am…"

The silence draws out between them, holding out longer than Lance can bare.

"K-Keith?" When he glanced down, he found the red paladin was asleep, clinging to his waist tightly. That or the little cheat was totally faking to avoid the embarrassment of this situation.

Lance decided he didn't care for either option.

"Goodnight Keith." He kissed his shoulder and closed his eyes


	18. Communication

**If you are interested in any art of fanart of this story you can see it is Smiles4Voltron on tumblr! I have a lot! :D**

* * *

They hadn't seen Dravla or Tellru since the kidnapping. Ruru had been in school during that time so Lance and Keith were left alone.

Lance hadn't really felt up to traveling around and they spent a lot of their time within the apartment. The two paladins busied themselves with small games and conversations.

Lance had learned so much about Keith in this time. Each new topic was a new experience. He liked learning about what Keith's hobbies were. His dislikes and likes. Dreams or fears.

They avoided the topic of the hearing as much as possible.

No matter what the King decided, the two Coeihns were dead. Manslaughter, non-criminal or not, was still what happened.

A blast wound straight through the chest and heart, resulting in instant death. The other impaled two times in the chest and lower throat after multiple slash wounds throughout the body. Lance didn't even have to mention the Coeihn who ran off with one of his arms missing.

Being armless, it didn't take them long to locate the escaped attacker. The only issue was, when they found him, he was face down in a river right outside of the Kingdom walls. Whoever had hired them had assured no means of tracking him down.

Besides that, the attackers had been identified, but Lance didn't want to know their names. He had enough to recall them by with the heavy bruises that covered his neck.

During the night every breath made his throat ache, and he woke up at least 2 times thinking he was still there- still in that moment.

The grip of massive hands still lingered, scrapping his skin- taking his air.

He would scream. It pierced the night air till Keith would roll over and gather him in his arms.

He would cradle him, kiss him, and hush him gently. When Lance would grow still, he would brush over the bruises with the pads of his fingers. Gentle and slow all with more care that Lance realized Keith had.

" _You're here_ ," Keith whispers, " _You're here with me,"_

 _"_ _I'm here_ ," with a kiss to his fingers, Lance curls into him. He couldn't let go.

"Lance?" Keith inquired as he sat next to Lance at the table a few hours later. Drawn out of his thoughts, the Blue paladin tilts his head. It was painfully early, the sun barely creeping over the hills in the distance. They had been up for an hour already, neither able to sleep with their dreams haunting them.

"Yeah?"  
Keith lifts something. During the night something has been placed under the door of their apartment.

A piece of parchment paper with writing on it.

"It is from Tellru," Keith announced. Lance inched closer, resting his head on Keith's shoulder.

"What does it say?"

"She says she is sorry she couldn't see us lately. Work has pilled up. However, since the hearing is later today, she will see us then. She said we don't have to dress up or anything for it, just dress as we always do." Keith announces with tone void of emotion, "Also, there isn't any progress with removing that blocking signal and she can't guarantee any assured date for when we can contact the team…" he paused, before sighing heavily, "It could take weeks,"

"A few weeks?' Lance frowns, "Like- how many?"

"It doesn't say for sure but she assumes perhaps a month before they can locate where the signal is coming from… And that doesn't even mention how long it might to actually get rid of it," They had already been there for almost a two months and they would be there for another one? "That is too long. We gotta get back to the team." Keith clicks his teeth, frustrated.

Lance pats his back. Despite how frustrated he also felt with this, he knew nothing would change from getting upset about it. So he says, "We've survived this long- what is a few more days going to do?"

"A lot could happen," Keith leans back a little, a hand moving up Lance's back to his neck. His fingers dance within the short strands of hair. "A lot has already happened," dark eyes flicked from Lance's gaze to his throat.

"Yeah. But not all bad things..." Lance lazily plays with Keith's bangs, eyeing him cautiously. With a flicker of warmth, they nuzzle into each other's side.

After a few quiet moments, Keith quietly agrees, "Not all bad things,"

"See," Lance kisses his cheek, then his jaw, then lower- right on that spot below Keith's ear, along his pulse.

The red paladin shivers, a strangled noise making it's way past his lips.

The two froze, eyes rapidly meeting the other. Half expecting Keith to leap up- having crossed some forbidden line- Lance fumbled to apologize.

Lance's words fell short when Keith moved his hair a little, revealing a long, slender, and very smooth neck.

Dumbstruck, he glanced up for answers. Keith couldn't seem to meet his eye, a heavy blush spreading along his ears.

"That… felt nice," he whispers hoarsely, his tone feverish.

Lance swallows audibly. His mind struggled to catch up, drinking in the heavenly sight of warm skin- waiting expectantly for his attention.

"Or um…" Keith had grown nervous with the heavy silence. Lowering his hand, he attempted to retreat, "N-Never mind…"

Lance snapped into action, grabbing his wrist. "Wait…" he leans in a little closer, enjoying how the other shivered in anticipation. "I want to…" With his own hand, he reached upward, delicately fisting a handful of raven hair, and pulled it away from the red paladin's neck.

He pressed his lips to the skin without wasting another second. Peppering the spot with small pecks he sucked dully when his lips trailed over Keith's slowly increasing pulse.

Keith tensed into him. Kneading his lower lip between his teeth, he breathed in cautiously, fearing his voice may just betray him if he tried to speak. The sensation was tingling, making goosebumps rise along his arms.

Lance playfully ran his hand over them, his tongue peeking out to curve along Keith's jaw. He tensed, gasping.

"Keith?" the husk in Lance's tone makes his heart tumble in his chest.

There is a long pause before a murmur of, "Y-Yes?"

"Is this too much?"

Lance could feel him shiver below his touch, "No. No, it is fine."

Humming in acceptance, he got back to work. There was something about a person's neck that was different from everything else, Lance concluded. While Keith's hands were normally soft, the softness of the skin along the neck was at a whole different level.

Blood pumped dutifully throughout the neck, leaving the area often warm to the touch. This alone gave an allusion to an indescribable smoothness that had Lance's head reeling.

He couldn't get enough of it.

"La…" Keith's voice cut off, replaced with a silent whimper as his fingers tightened along his back.

Lance wanted to more than just kisses. He wanted to mark Keith with hickey's- prominent and large, for the entire world to see. It was an urge he had never felt before, and was tempted to fulfill it.

Lance opened his mouth to fulfill the urge.

Then…

Keith sneezed.

Jolting his entire body, his eyes go wide, blinking rapidly. It was small, high pitched, and adorable

Lance felt a bubble of affection twirling in his gut and he buried his face into the crook of Keith's neck. "That was cute," he cooed, falling against him.

There is a smack to Lance's forehead, light but with intention, "Shut up…" he grumbled, flustered

Lance laughed. Tossing himself forward, he knocks them out of their chairs and into the ground below. Keith grunts, hits him, and then laughs.

A few hours later, and they are heading to the hearing with the King.

Lance can still feel the delicious heat of Keith's neck on his lips. Holy Quiznack did he want to do all of that again.

Neither of them spoke about it- but perhaps that was because they didn't need to speak about it. They both were well aware of what happened and if they had felt uncomfortable with it, they would have stopped it then and there. And neither of them did- so they kept doing it.

After Lance had been the first to take up the new act, he found the back of his neck was kissed at random points throughout the day. He shivered each and every time, never able to get used to the warm sensation.

Keith was definitely a big monkey see monkey do kind of guy when it came to the way they showed each other affection. Always unsure, tiptoeing around each action till Lance did it first.

It was cute, but also very dangerous.

Once Keith did finally see Lance do it, you could expect him to do it alot. Constant kisses, hugs, lingering touches- none of these were helping Lance's fluttering heart.

Hoping to leave these thoughts in the back of his mind for a while, he focused on the hearing.

It had gone exactly as Tellru explained to them. An explanation of the case, the stories of all the witnesses/victims, and an account of the damage. Similar to earth trials, the information was listed out for everyone to hear. However, instead of a jury or judge, it was the King's decision.

He ruled them innocent.

Not many seemed surprised by this, but Rashra, who had mingled his way into the crowd, called against this. He barked protests, stating that three Coeihns lay dead because of them- though the third one had nothing to do with them since it was still unknown who had thrown them into that river.

The King waved off Rashra's remarks, ("All who had seen the scene agreed that it was an act of self-defense to self-harm.")  
Rashra spat something, pointing at Keith. Manson seemed to consider his words, much to Lance's dismay, and glanced at them, ("I will not deny that Keith's actions were brutal, but the lose and endangerment of an Equivalent has often driven many to lash out.") he says in and all to knowing tone, ("I've seen many act brutally and senselessly the last few weeks without any threat to them as well, Rashra,") he says pointedly. ("If it bothers you so, I shall have Dravla accompany Keith for a few days to assure this do not happen again.)

Tellru quietly translates his words to them, barely keeping eye contact with either of them long enough to figure out what she is thinking. It was very formal between them since the kidnapping.

It wasn't like they could blame here after what happened.

"What does he mean by accompanying?" Lance inquires.

"Dravla's duties will be put on hold so that he may shadow Keith outside of the apartment. You may not leave or go anywhere without him," she informs them swiftly. Keith glanced across the room to said Coeihn. He nods back, assuring that out of everything, this was the best outcome they could get.

Thus, it was over. Barely any strife, lasting only an hour, but Lance felt like he was dying the entire time. They had brought in pictures of the bodies, showing them to the crowd and king. Lance wanted to hurl at the seared burns that cover the Coeihns shirt and chest form his Bayard.

Turning his head to the left, he buried it into Keith's upper arm then quietly slipped their hands together. They squeezed once, inhaling in unison.

"Well, guess I'm now your shadow," Dravla approached them a little while later, smiling nonchalantly. Keith nods numbly.

"I hope you don't mind."

"I get to avoid work and hang out with you two for a couple days- it'll be like a vacation. A very three-wheeled based awkward vacation," he says. Lance can't help but chuckle. Dravla was just so open, the warmth in his eyes unfaltering. He didn't think differently of them….

Tellru was another story.

She hadn't looked Keith in the eyes since they had seen her, her head turned downward into her folder. He felt she was pretending to busy herself with work, but he wasn't going to point that out.

"Alright then, let's go-" Dravla was cut off when a large figure pushed past him, bumping roughly into Keith's shoulder. Stumbling, Keith shot a glare at the perpetrator. It was Rashra.

He glared threateningly over his shoulder, storming off into the sea of citizens.

Dravla shook his head as he left, "It's like looking at a spoiled child with him," Dravla attempts to lighten the mood, but Keith's anger is already festering. Lance had to squeeze his hand to remind him they were still in public, and he was still under heavy watch for his actions a few days before.

"Welp…." Dravla makes an awkward noise, "Let's go then," he pecks Tellru on the cheek. She nods quietly, and turns without so much of a goodbye. Her eyebrows were scrunched together in deep thought. Dravla stared after her, frowning with worry. "Um… So uh- what are you boys going to do today?" he inquired.

Lance shrugs, "I dunno…" honestly, he just wanted to go back to the apartment by this point. Maybe or maybe not snuggle with Keith? If he was up to it…

That wouldn't be too bad.

Like hell he was going to just going to ask him.

"Wanna get some lunch?" Dravla suggests.

"Sure," they agree.

The rest of the day was hell in a hand basket.

Kind of…

Lance didn't know how to describe it. It was hell for certain reasons, but also really wonderful? Did that make sense?

Let him explain. It started with Keith.

He was being weird. And weird in a sense that was… odd, but charming and hot?

It didn't even make sense in Lance's own mind but that was how it was. Keith was just super affectionate.

He would kiss Lance out of nowhere every few minutes. It was rough, almost all tongue. Not like they didn't normally kiss, but these were out of the blue. It was like Keith would see someone stare at Lance a second too long and spring into action.

Lance felt light headed by the time lunch ended, Keith's taste enveloping his senses. It was very unlike him, considering that it was usually the blue paladin that tended to initiate the kissing.

If that weren't enough to make his brain spin upside down, Keith wouldn't let anyone near him. His hand would rest on his Bayard whenever they passed by another Coeihn on the street, his other palm a constant presence on Lance's hip. It was holding him close and guiding him through town. Lance kind of liked it but… it was _always_ there. Keith never let go of him, _ever._

There was one instance where Dravla had reached towards Lance. Perhaps to give him a pat on the shoulder or ruffle his hair, like he always did, but Keith swatted his fingers away.

Surprised, Dravla stepped back and blinked, dumbstruck. Keith fumbled to apologize, just as shocked by his own reaction.

Dravla waved it off, but it wouldn't be the only time Keith would do this. Lance didn't know what to think. He assumed it was Keith being protective after what had happened- however they had nothing to fear from Dravla. He was their friend

But, of course, Keith didn't care if Ruru climbed up to Lance's shoulders and pounded her chest like donkey kong. He always went along with that.

Still, even then, it felt more along the lines of… Keith was _allowing_ Lance to play with Ruru.

Like he was sharing him- like one would share a toy or possession with a friend or family member.

This was just a feeling, so Lance didn't bring it up in case he was just imagining it.

As the hours passed, he started to realize that maybe he wasn't imagining this.

Keith wouldn't let him go farther than 3 feet from him, constant reaching for Lance like a needy child.

When Lance allowed him to hold his hand or hug him, Keith grip was almost bruising. It was… possessive.

That was the right word for this, right? He never really tried to force his opinion on him, or tell him not to talk with someone, but he always lingered close by.

Lance had never had to deal with anything like this before. He couldn't decipher if this was possessiveness or Keith just being over protective.

The strangest part, was that as hard as it is, Lance admits to... _liking_ Keith getting possessive,

But only in small ounces! When it was a constant presence it made him exhausted and a little frustrated that he couldn't just take a moment to himself and just breath.

With those torn thoughts, what exactly could he say? _I know I scared the living daylights out of you a few days ago and you've had to constantly take care of me but can you not hug and kiss me all the time and treat me like an object in need of constant watch even though you have never physically said that you think of me as this and I might just be freaking out over nothing?_

There is no way he could say this. Especially considering he liked the constant hugs, the sudden and rough kisses, the lingering looks….

It was complicated, even to himself.

Maybe he just needs to sleep on it? Sleep sounds like a good idea.

* * *

 **0000-00000**

 _Keith was running, scrapping his heels along stone floors, shooting through alleyways._

 _He was tossed back a few days before- searching, calling for Lance. He couldn't find him. He couldn't find Ruru's trail of screws._

 _He couldn't-_

 _A scream._

 _Like a snapping of a branch, Keith could hear his own heart breaking in two._

He rounded the corner.

The sword had been lifted, plunged into the delicate flesh of Lance's chest.

 _"_ _No!"_

 _With a turn of his head, the light already fading from his eyes, Lance reached for him weakly, "Why? Keith why didn't you… help me?" he whimpered softly, "You said you would protect me…"_

 _Lance's body fell, the limpness of his form making the thump of the floor that much heavier._

 _No. No please._

 _NO NO NO!_

 _He didn't make it_

 _He failed_

 _He lost him._

 _He lost lance_

 _Lance!_

* * *

 ** _0000-0000_**

Keith awoke with a start, shivering and gasping in the sheets. He didn't even take a second to register his surroundings before he turned, plopping himself up to reach for the man besides him.

He grasped Lance's slumbering hands to calm his shaking one. Watched his breathing to remember to do it himself. Kissed him to assure himself that he was alive and here

It didn't take long to pull him from his slumber, starting off the day with a frantic tongue teasing the blue paladin's mouth open.

With a gasp, Lance mewled below him, clinging to his arms for support.

His awareness was numb, eyes clouded with confusion if this was reality or a dream. Keith wanted to be part of both in Lance's life.

The light tapping at his arm gave Keith enough sense to pull away, allowing the other to breath. His hair was messy from sleep; cheeks flushed a brilliant shade of pink and eyes glazed with astonished wonder,

"Keith?" He whispered, baffled, "W-What was that?"

Keith wasn't sure how to explain his behavior. It wasn't like they hadn't made out before, but this felt different. They often shared control in those exchanges, teasing the other equally with their tongues and lips- but this had been all Keith

He didn't allow Lance that control, swooping in and taking the blue paladin's breath away before he could even fully wake up.

"I dunno…" he glances down at the other's lips. They are swollen because of him. "I don't know…" he leaned forward to nip at them. Lance curled into him, swallowing down a whine.

"W-Well…" Lance took a few weary breaths, "That definitely isn't a bad way to wake me up. You should do that more often,"

Keith pauses, exhilarated, "I should?"

He nods meekly, "Definitely wouldn't mind that,"

With a smile, Keith leaned back down. With a much more gentle approach, he tilted Lance's chin towards him and brought their lips together.

Suckling, nipping, swirling their tongues together the two openly groaned in the back of their throats. Pulling back, Keith eyed the slowly fading bruises along Lance's neck. They both infuriated and stabbed at his heart.

"Hey…" Lance whispers in the dark. "I'm okay,"

"Yeah…"

Lance watched curiously as Keith leaned down to the bruise, kissing it apologetically.

"Keith?" Lance inquired, inhaling sharply through his nose as his body comes alive under the other's touch.

One kiss. Two. A light nip to his Adam's apple...

Lance openly shivered when Keith's tongue circled his collarbone.

"H...hey," he stammers, his ears reddening.

Keith eyed them hungrily. Sititng up slightly, he moved closer, testing a small lick to Lance's ears. The gasp was enough to initiate some lights bites to the shell of one of them, teasingly running his tongue over the spot.

Startled, Lance jolted, hand snapping up to stop him. With wide eyes he says, "I never showed you that…" his face was burning

Keith appreciated the sight, "I just felt like doing it," he admits. Honestly, he felt like doing _a lot_ of things to Lance: some of them not so innocent- Some more confusing than anything else. He had never done anything like this, and despite the anxious twirls in his gut, he wanted to go further.

It was a bizarre feeling that sometimes overwhelmed him

Not to mention, he really liked Lance's ears.

Moving Lance's hand away from hiding them, Keith bit down lightly the little ear once more.

Lance moaned, a sound Keith quickly grew to love.

Startled by his own reaction, Lance covered his mouth and gazed up at him. Entranced by that stare, giving the Cuban boy his own look of shock, Keith slowly backed off.

His heart was pounding, his body ringing with a sensation he couldn't fathom.

They were diving into very dangerous waters here.

"U-um… Lance cleared his throat and sat up."...I'm going to go make breakfast," he leaped off the bed and ducked towards the kitchen.

"I'm going to go take a bath," Keith agrees quickly. Without another word Keith scrambled to grab his clothes and shot out of the room. Lance's gaze lingered on the door. His cheeks flushed as he reached up to wipe the saliva from his ear.

In any other situation, he would have thought it was disgusting. So how come his legs were shaking so much?

Shivering, Lance rubbed at the goosebumps along his arms. Trying to focus on breakfast, he glances at the clock. Knowing Keith, he wouldn't take long in the bath- he never did. Undoubtedly he would be running back within the next 5 minutes, joining Lance for breakfast.

Lance preferred when they were alone. Keith acted like himself when there was no one around- when there was no chance anything bringing them harm.

He would relax, the tense look in his brow fading.

He preferred when Keith could just smile and laugh with him. No doubt, or worries- just them.

Suddenly feeling this urge to see the red paladin, Lance turned from the food.

Deciding he might as well meet Keith there, he went to grab his clothes. Collecting them, he sauntered over to the door and tugged on the handle.

It didn't budge

"What the-" Lance couldn't open it. Thinking he had just forgotten to unlock it, he turned the switch and tried again. It didn't work.

He pulled wildly on the door handle, huffing in frustration. "What the hell!?" he yelled. For a few minutes he tried, pounding his fist against it angrily. Why wouldn't it open? Had it been locked from the outside?

"Hey!" he called, wondering if anyone could hear him, "HEY!" A few minutes of yelling and there was a voice.

"Lance?" Keith sounds from the other side. The five minutes had passed, and he had returned.

"Keith! Oh, good. Listen I think I'm-" there is the sound of clattering on the other side. When the door opens, Lance's first objective is to check the door handle. Keith was lifting something form it.

Rope.

In some expert knot, someone had tied the door closed from the outside in, making it impossible for Lance to leave. It pissed him off.

"Who did that?" he demanded.

Keith's expression is blank, "I did,"

That caught him off guard, "You?" he questions, stepping back, "Why?"

Keith folds the rope between his fingers, glancing at Lance from the corner of his eye, "I knew you would try to answer the door if I wasn't here,"

"Of course I would have- you usually answer the door when someone knocks."

"And what if it had been a Coeihn here to assassinate you?" Keith frowns.

"Well, what if it had been Tellru? Or Dravla? Or just a common Coeihn- like the doctor that takes care of my eyes-" Lance only realized then that he never asked him his name. He should next time.

"Or it could have been someone trying to hurt you and you would have blindly opened it while I was gone and would have gotten taken away again or killed," Keith says. From his tone, Lance knew he wasn't going to get any sort of apology out of the paladin- but man that pissed him off!

Keith didn't even ask- he just did it!

"I can protect myself, Keith," Lance says. Keith scoffed at him, actually scoffed!

"It is just a precaution," he ended up saying in a gruff voice.

"Don't do it again," Lance commands him.

"Then don't open the door while I'm gone,"

"They could still break down the door or something Keith!" Lance bickers with him

Pissed for a decent hour, which Lance hadn't felt with the red paladin in weeks, Lance forgave Keith when he took his hand and kissed it. He was weak to little things like that.

And lately, Keith had been doing them more and more.

The worse thing about it, Keith didn't do it as a sense of apology, because he truly believed he did nothing wrong. He just did it to kiss Lance's wrist- to show him affection.

Honestly, just what the hell was going on in that head of his?  
The next time it happened, Lance wasn't just going to let it slide. If he wanted it to stop, he has to say something.

"Ready to go?" Keith inquired at the door.

"Yeah," he paused when Keith opened the door and immediately slinked his hand around Lance's waist. Without a word they walked out into the hall, Lance awkwardly throwing his arm over Keith's shoulder to make the position seem normal.

If he wasn't so confused with everything, he might have been embarrassed with how tightly Keith was gripping his hip- but it was too strange.

It was actually kind of… upsetting?

Lance didn't understand- did Keith not trust him to take of himself? That was a stinging thought…

At least Dravla was waiting for them outside. When he saw them, he waved. When they waved back, something crossed over the Coeihn's gaze. Looking them both over thoughtfully, his stare lingered for a little too long, like he was pondering something serious.

Then, his eyes lower to Keith's arm around Lance's waist. He takes a moment to note that, and smiles, "Hey boys, you two look at adorable as ever. Attached by the hip, I see," he says it playfully

Lance glanced at the limb and then nodded slowly. Dravla had spoken in such a playful way, teasing them like he always did. Keith bought into, huffing at him, but Lance… he couldn't describe it.

There was something more to Dravla's words. Had he also began to notice how clingy Keith seemed to be getting lately?

"Tellru has something she wants to give you two," Dravla announces, motioning for them to follow. They step onto a Kever, head down to the lower districts, and meet up with Tellru on the platforms.

There was a clear sense of determination in her eyes unlike the previous days. "Hello," she greets them.

"Hey," they both say, grateful she seems to be talking to them again.

"I-" she stumbles with her words, nervous, "I brought you something." Like some sort of apology for ignoring them for so long, she handed them both a new set of clothes. "I noticed you didn't really wanna wear those jackets anymore…" they had been sliced, stained too heavily with blood for Lance to like looking at them. "So here…"

"New jackets," Lance gasps, holding it out in front of him. "Tellru… thank you," he steps towards a window to put it on, examining himself.

Keith was still gawking at his, too shocked. "Even… for me?" he asked her quietly. Tellru blinks once, then nods.

"I often make you two matching outfits. It wouldn't really match if I only made one,"

"Well yeah but…" he trails off, averting his gaze. He thought for sure she would never talk to him again. Knowing that she seemed to be moving past the initial shock was almost too much for him.

It-

He paused mid-thought, his gaze snapping in search of Lance. Making sure he wasn't wondering to far, he spotted him towards the window. Dravla was talking to him, pointing out little details to the jacket. Lance was fawning over it, loving the design. Tellru had put a lot of effort into these ones, most likely working on them for a long time.

He was fine though. Lance was fine. He would be better if he was over here, but Lance was fine…

"You listening, Keith?' Tellru inquired.

"Huh?" he says, surprised she was still talking. Had she said something?

"What did I just say?" She folds her arms.

"Um…?"  
"You weren't listening."

"Oh…" Keith looks at his feet, "Sorry,"

Turning away, Tellru sighed. Something in her stance changes and she glanced at Keith with an almost challenging look in her eyes. With a little hum, she calls to Lance, "Lance! There is a sale going on down in the bakery, would you like to go with me?"

Perking up, Lance grinned, "Sure!" he ran over to her, hooking their arms together. Both of them notice the way Keith's eyes flare at the action, but he didn't say anything about it, so neither did they.

"Let's go,"

"Guys we'll stick back here and get Ruru," Dravla waves them off,

Keith is startled by his suggestion, "We should go with them,"

"They can do it by themselves. It isn't like they are buying the whole store and need help carrying anything back- you aren't planning on buying the store right?" he demands.

"No," Tellru tells him.

"Are you sure? Last time they had a sale you went nuts and bought 8 dozen cookies," he points a warning finger at her. She grins, waving it off.

"I won't-" she pauses, "I might a little."

"I'll keep her under control," Lance tells him.

"Hey," Keith cuts in, not appreciating being ignored, "Lance can't go,"

"Wha- yeah I can," Lance turns to him with a huff, "It isn't like I hurt my legs or anything. I can walk just fine."

"That isn't what I meant," Keith tells him.

"But what he says is true. Lance is fine. You are fine. You both can go different ways, and be _fine,"_ there is a little look in Dravla's eyes. Lance pondered if perhaps he was trying to give Lance a chance to have some space from Keith for a bit.

"I still want to go with,' Keith says, giving him a slight glare.

"Oh but we gotta go pick up Ruru from school," Dravla says innocently.

"Then we pick up Ruru and all go together," Keith folds his arms.

"Keith, it's okay," Lance pleads quietly. He glanced at him, then back at Dravla. "I'll be fine,"

"You don't know that,"

"It's just to the Bakery, Keith," Lance can already see the Kever approaching the station. When he turned to step towards it Keith grabbed his arm

"No,"

"No?" Lance repeated the word, numb and confused

"I don't want you leaving my side,"

Lance struggles to follow, then stammers, "It is only for a little bit,"

"A little bit is enough for anything to happen,"

"I'll be with Tellru,"

"That does guarantee you'll be safe!"

"Keith!" Lance scolds him, shocked he insinuated he was in some sort of danger with her. "She's our friend!"

Keith quickly says, "I know she is! That isn't what I meant. I just feel better when I can keep an eye on you,"

Dravla and Tellru stepped back as the two bickered, glancing at each other nervously.

"I don't need you to babysit me!" Lance yells.

"You aren't going, Lance!"

Lance slapped Keith's hand away when he reached for him, "Don't boss me around!" he seethed angrily. Startled for only a moment, Keith narrowed his eyes

"Lance," he speaks in a tone like he is about to scold a small child. It pisses Lance off.

"Don't _'Lance'_ me! I'm not some child, Keith! I am just as capable as you are and can take care of myself,"

Keith scoffs at him, _again,_ "Have you even looked in the mirror lately? You definitely _can't_ take care of yourself from what I can see,"

Lance almost slaps him, "Most of these injuries were to help you from becoming someone virgin prize you ungrateful jerk! And I'm going to remind you, that I won four of those five challenges by myself! BLIND!" tears were burning behind his eyes. He hated this. He hated fighting with Keith. He hated that Keith thought so little of his abilities.

"And the stab wound?!"

"There were three of them!" Lance hates that Keith is bringing that up.

"And there could be six or ten of them next time!"

He couldn't believe his ears, "What is wrong with you lately?!" he demanded, "I'm just going to the Bakery!"

"And I'm just saying I'm going with you!"

"You don't need to! I can do it by myself! I need some-" when Keith attempts to grab his arm he pushes him back, "I need some space! I'm going, you jerk!" Lance screamed. "Stop making me feel like I can't take care of myself!"  
Keith doubles back, "What? I never said you couldn't!"

"You just did! What you just said! You make me feel that way, Keith! It's like I'm some porcelain doll to you! Well I don't need that, Keith! I don't want that! I don't need that! _I don't need you_!"

Keith went stiff, eyes growing wide. Lance had never seen Keith look so… hurt.

Biting his tongue, Lance stepped back. He hadn't meant it that way…

He just meant- he didn't need Keith to watch out for him all the time. Not that he didn't need _him_ general.

"L…" Keith choked up a little. Lance couldn't bare to see the sight.

He turned and ran off the platform. The Kever had stopped a little bit into the argument and had just started moving to leave.

Before anyone could stop him, Lance leaped aboard.

"Lance!" Keith called for him, watching in dismay as the Beetle shot off into the distance, moving faster than he could keep up.

The whole platform was in silence, many Coeihns staring at him in dumbfounded confusion. When he glared at them, they quickly went back to their own business.

Giving Keith a few seconds, Dravla eventually whistled him, "Okay. Awkward."

Tellru nodded, "...And he just ran off by himself. I don't actually think he even knows how to get to the bakery,"

Dravla hummed, "Well…" he shrugs, "Might as well go pick up Ruru,"

Keith turned on them, "What? And just let Lance go?"

"Yeah," they nod.

"We-no! He could get into danger!"

"Or he could be just fine. It isn't like we can stop the Kever anyway," Tellru tells him. "He is a grown boy, he has his Bayard, and his sight is improving by the day. He'll do great,"

"He could still get hurt!" his voice felt raw. Keith was starting to feel heavy, Lance's words echoing in his mind like a fresh wound. Lance didn't need him…

Tellru folded her arms. With a calm and understanding look, she glanced at a bench, "Here, come here," she motions for him to sit down. With much convincing, he finally did, tapping his foot anxiously. He would prefer to go running after the Kever but he wouldn't be able to keep up with it. It would just be faster to wait for the next on and take that instead.

Meaning he would have to wait. He hated waiting.

"Listen… I'm sensing some stress from you," Tellru tells him.

"Some serious stalkerish stress," Dravla adds in. Tellru swats him away, motioning for him to shut up.

"You've been hovering around Lance for the last couple days," she points out. "Do you deny this?"

Opening his mouth, Keith takes a moment to think about it, and then shuts it. He shakes his head no.

"You are worried about him?"

"Yes."

"You want to protect him?"

"Of course I do!"

"Yet, you have been dragging him around like some pet?"

Keith was shocked she would even suggest that "No!" he yells at her, "I would never treat him like that!"

"But you are,"

"I'm not-"

"You never let him go far from you, don't let him talk to others. Dravla even informed me that you wouldn't even allow him close to Lance. Do you not trust us?"

"I trust you," he huffs quickly. "You are our friends-"

"I do not feel like a friend," Dravla says quickly, "All I've received from you is glares whenever I so much as look at Lance… It's-" he pauses, tapping Tellru's shoulder for the word.

"Possessive,"

Keith reels back, like they stung him, "No." he shakes his head, "I'm not being-"

"You are," they tell him sternly. He inhales sharply, words of protest at the tip of his tongue but refusing to come out.

"I'm just.." he swallows, "I'm keeping an eye on him," he insists.

"Which is fine, but you need to be able to let him go off on his own too. Do you think Lance is weak and incapable of watching over himself?"

"No…" Keith grips at his pants, "He is a paladin. He is very strong,"

"They way you've been manhandling him says otherwise," Dravla informs him. "And what you said earlier…"

"What I said…?" Keith was so caught up in the fight, he couldn't even remember half of the things he had yelled.

"He said he could take care of himself and you told him he couldn't," Dravla summarizes, "Ring a bell?"

Keith covers his mouth, feeling numb, "Did I…?"

"Yes."

"But he…" Keith hadn't thought he had been doing anything wrong. He was just trying to make sure Lance didn't get hurt. He just… "I just want to protect him," he whispers weakly. "I know he can take care of himself. He's… He's really strong!" he tells them desperately, "You should see how good his aim is. I can't even shot something a few feet in front of me but he- it's like he's a sniper! He's the team's sharp shooter…"

"Have you ever told him this?"

To Keith horror, he realized he hadn't, "No… I guess I never thought I had to. He is always so confident in himself. Or at least, he acts like he is."  
"And maybe that is where one of the issues lie," Tellru pats his shoulder. "Sometimes, for your own confidence, you need to be able to handle things on your own."

Keith looks pale, "…He always gets hurt when he is on his own. Things always go after him…"

"And I get why you want to stay with him. But he is also is own person, and he will decide on things that you might not always agree to. No one, not even the closest equivalents, will always see eye to eye on everything," Tellru tells him gently. "… I understand."

"You do?"

"My equivalent is the 5th champion-" she reaches up to take Dravla's hand. Startled, he blinks at her, "He is thrown into the ring more often than I would ever like. Not to mention, he is Manny's right hand man. Whatever dangers the King sees, so does he." her voice drops, "When I can't see him, my mind jumps to the worse and I go through my entire day worrying… fearing that this is the day that I lose him forever,"

"Tellru…" he tightens his grip on her.

"And he feels the same, I'm sure," Tellru continues after a small peck to Dravla's knuckles, "It is a natural response"

"I don't quite get it," Keith admits.

"How you are feeling is normal. When you care about someone, you fear that you will lose them. But how you are right now- it is possessive Keith. Overprotective, and a little unhealthy."

Keith slouches a bit, a heavy grim pulling at his lips,

"Then what do I do?!" he demanded, "Something is always around- something is always trying to get to him!"

"I know," she says, "In truth, sometimes I feel that everyday is like a 50/50 chance that something terrible might happen." she says, "But if you go through your whole life fearing what might happen, you'll never be able to enjoy the moment. You'll simply push Lance away,"

Like she had just tossed a 100-pound boulder on him, he fell back, "I will?" he asked weakly, horrified.

"He's already ran off, desperate to get away from you," Dravla muttered more to himself than to Keith. Tellru elbowed him.

Still hearing the words, the damage was done, and hurt flashed in Keith's eyes, "I…" with a wounded look, he stares off into the distance, "I didn't know…"

"Know you do. When Lance returns, talk to him. Tell him how you feel, and I'm sure he will tell you how he feels. Find some middle ground where you both can feel happy,"

Gripping the bench, Keith nodded numbly, "O-Okay," he says numbly

"And don't worry too much. You two are Klance, you'll figure it out," Dravla giggles.

"Again with that weird name?" Keith sighs.

"It's like a boat name!" Tellru grins.

"…Boat?"

"Yeah, when you boat two people together," she tells him. "We do that with people in plays, or groups all the time."

"…" Keith slowly blinked then asked, "Do you mean ships? When you ship people together?"

"I think you mean boat," Dravla says.

Keith shakes his head, "No, ship,"

"Boat,"

"Ship,"

"Boat!"

"It's a ship!"

"What in the world is a ship?!"

"It's a boat!" Keith yells.

"Then why bother calling it a ship if it is also a boat!?"

Keith threw his hands up and yelled in frustration, "Forget it! Never mind!"

The two Coeihns started to laugh, patting his head. Lowering his head with they ruffled his hair, he glanced up at them sheepishly.

"So… you two aren't mad at me?" he inquires softly.

"Mad at you?" they echo.

"About… before. With those three Coeihns,"

They share a startled look and say, "No. We aren't made at you,"

"But… You wouldn't talk to me," Keith says to Tellru. Looking guilty, she glances away.

"I was just… confused." When Keith tilted his head, she says, "I hadn't expected you to get so violent that day. I mean, I'm not saying I haven't flashed to rage when someone threatens Dravla of Ruru- but you were different. I have only ever seen something fight that brutally once before…" Tellru admits.

Keith glanced at her, his face pale, but his mouth set, "Yeah?"

"A Galra," her eyes met his firmly. "When I looked at you that day, I smelled their scent."

Keith held her gaze the best he could, biting the inside of his cheek till it bleed, "…Oh,"

"I was confused because you do not look Galra, Keith. You even told me that you fight them… so why? Why did you smell like them that day?"

"I…" his voice cracked, "Because I-" he shut his mouth. Weighing the options, he considered every possibility to what he was about to admit. The chance of them losing the only true allies they held in this world was a terrifying thought.

He liked Tellru, Dravla and Ruru. They were growing to be like a family to him. He didn't want them to turn away from him for what he was. But… they deserved the truth, didn't they?"

"I'm… I'm Galra," he croaks. The Coeihns go stiff, eyes wide. "B-But only half. My Father was human, and though I never met her, I believe my Mother is Galra… I'm sorry," he bows his head.

"Half Galra," she repeats, "Who would have thought,"

"Are you.. Do you hate me?" he inquired, hands gripping his pants tightly, bunching the clothing in his palms.

She shakes her head, "No, just surprised,"

"It kind of makes sense, I suppose," Dravla folds his arm, "Can you turn purple? Galra are purple right? I've never actually seen one myself,"

"No, I can't turn purple."

They nod. After a few awkwardly quiet moments, Dravla claps his hands together, "Welp! We should go get Ruru," his carefree smiles returns and he helps Tellru off the bench, "Lets go, Keith!"

"Huh? Oh uh…" Shocked to realize that was all there was to that conversation, he stumbled after him. They smiled at him, the same warmth in there eyes as always. He was grateful.

For now, he would wait for Lance to come back.

He would talk to him properly and apologize.

* * *

 **LANCE**

"….This was a dumb idea,"

It wasn't till Lance got a mile away from Keith that he noticed Tellru wasn't with him and he had no idea where he was going

Realizing this might have been a mistake; he sat down and buried his face into his hands.

If that wasn't the worse of it, he could still see Keith's face clear as day in his mind. The look of utter hurt…

He almost wished he was fully blind again, just so he wouldn't have to witness such a thing. Not saying his vision is 20/20, but he was starting to see more and more clearly each day.

In this case, that wasn't a good thing.

Groaning in despair, he heard a faint chuckle next to him. "Rough day?"

"Yeah," he nods to the stranger.

A few seconds pass.

"Hey wait," Lance straightened to face the cloaked man, dumbfounded at the English that came from their lips, "How do you-?"

A slight lift of the hood and bright green eyes twinkled at him, "Greeting, Lance,"

"Manson," Lance gasps quietly, "What are you doing here?"

"Harri wanted some of the fresh cupcakes from this little bakery across town. It's having a sale. I hate to ask the guards for something so trivial, and I was feeling a little cooped up in the castle, so I snuck out. Don't tell Dravla, but I do this often. I'm glad I ran into you,"

"Me too," Lance admits honestly.

"What are you doing about by yourself? It isn't often you aren't with your Equivalent."

At the mention of Keith, Lance visibly tensed, "Yeah well… we need some time apart," he says

"Ooh?"

Glancing at him, Lance takes a chance to say what is on his mind, "He was getting a little… to put it nicely, he was getting clingy."

"Clingy?"  
"He never let me go anywhere without him. Always stood super close- says I can't take care of myself."

"I'm sure he is just worried and scared that something bad will happen to you,"

"That doesn't mean he can just…" Lance sighs, broken and lost, "He isn't the only one who is scared… I am too."

Manny slowly turned to him, eyes wide. Having not expected Lance to so openly admit that, he raises his eyebrow, "You are?"

"Of course I am," Lance threw his head back. His hand trailed to the bandages for the stab wound across his arm. "I'm scared of dying. Of losing him. Everyone feels that way. Everyone wants to find a way to control the situation and make it less frightening. But, like my mama always told me, it's inevitable,"

Manny's voice is quite when he asks, "What is?"

"Death. Pain. Loss. It is in our nature to hurt others and get hurt in return… even if we don't mean to. At least, that is what my Mama always told me." He shrugs a little, "So yes, I understand. I feel the same way about Keith… I don't want him to get hurt." He glances at Manson, "You feel that way about Harri, right?"

Going stiff, the King nods quietly, "I do…"

"See, everyone feels it," Lance says, "And sometimes…" he pauses, "Sometimes I just want to take Keith far away, where no one can see him and just keep him to myself," he laughs nervously, "Kind of silly, huh?"

Inhaling slowly, the King shakes his head, "No. I don't think it is,"

Lance hums a response. "You think?" he smiles, With a little chuckle he adds, "But- I can't do that. As much as I want to, I also want Keith to do what he wants. To have adventures, and meet as many people as he can. I want him to be able to live to the fullest and know there is danger out there, but not fear it because I try to constantly shield him from it. I want him to be able to stand tall in the face of it… Does that make sense?"

The King is staring at him, amazed, "I… Yes. It does." He says quietly.

"Thanks for listening, Manny," Lance got to his feet, "I feel a lot better now,"

There is a long, considerate pause, "And I thank you, Lance,"

"What for?"

Manny smiled to himself, glancing away, "I feel like I've learned something today…"

"Yeah?" he tilts his head curiously. "Hey- that Bakery you said you are going to. You said there was a sale?"

"Yup,"

"Oh sweet, I think we are going to the same place!"

"Convenient," The King praises. 'It should be to the right at this next stop,"

Lance ended up going cookie shopping with the King. It didn't really feel _regal_ or anything. Just two dudes buying cookies and talking about which would be better.

It was fun.

Until they went back to the station they had left Keith and the others. They were actually standing there, waiting for them. Keith was slouched forward, expression unhappy and hands stuffed deep into his pockets. Ruru was there too, so they must have left to pick her up.

"Uh… hey," Lance says awkwardly when he steps off. "I brought you all cookies,"

"Cookies!" Ruru cheers, taking one.

Giving Tellru her own share, Dravla pats his head. "Well… I think you two have some chatting to do," he motions to Keith. "So you two head back,"

"Okay…"

Keith doesn't look him before he turns on his heels and starts walking down the road.

The walked back in silence, a good distance apart from each other. Lance hated himself.

For multiple reasons.

First, as much as he hated it, Keith had a point; Lance seemed to be doing a pretty shitty job at taking care of himself since they got here.

Second, he never meant to yell at Keith the way he did.

Third, despite all the talk of needing space… Lance wanted to hold Keith's hand right now. How frustrating was that?

When they got back to the apartment, he would apologize. He would make things right, sit Keith down, and tell him how he was feeling about all of this. Keith was.. well, he was Keith. Lance was positive he would understand.

If only things were that simple. When they finally got back to the apartment, Lance didn't know how to start. They had dinner in complete silence with zero eye contact. It was torture.

Lance was using to giving Keith the silent treatment when they were back with on the Castle, but not since they got here. Not an hour went by that Lance didn't say something to Keith. Or think about him…

"We should start heading to bed," Keith breaks the silence when the sun started to set.

"Oh uh… right…" he bit his tongue, "K-Keith?" He turns a little to show he heard him. "About today, I-I'm sorry… I didn't- I ran off and worried you…"

"It's fine," Keith says. His expression is one he often saw back at Garrison. A closed off look to keep to himself… "I… didn't want you to go off by yourself, but it's fine," Keith says. "I still don't want you to go off by yourself…"

Lance huffs heavily, "Yeah, I get that,"

"I don't feel comfortable when you do,"

"…" Lance folds his arms, glaring at the floor.

There is a pause, one long enough for Lance to look back at Keith. When he did, Keith met him with an indescribable look, "I want to protect you. You're… important to me,"

Lance's heart stalled in his chest, swelling more than his tiny heart could handle, "I…" he tongue felt thick against his teeth, "I want to protect you too, Keith,"

There is a small inhale. The moment was almost touching, and Lance thought that perhaps things would be okay between them, but then Keith said, "I don't need protecting,"

"What?" Lance asked sharply.

"I don't need you to protect me,"Lance almost punched him on the spot. "Excuse me?! So you can protect me, but I can't do the same for you?"

Lance almost punched him on the spot. "Excuse me?! So you can protect me, but I can't do the same for you?"Keith tensed, eyes wide with panic,

Keith tensed, eyes wide with panic, "Oh- wait no- that isn't what I-"

"Do you think I'm not strong enough to protect you? Or myself? Is that it? You scoffed at me this morning when I told you that. Am I that weak of a person to you?" Lance felt like crying. What the hell was this paladin? How could he make him feel so happy and so shitty all in a span of twenty seconds?

"No! No that isn't what I meant!"

"What did you mean then Keith?!" it was bad enough Lances always doubted his own abilities amongst the team- considering himself the weak link on every occasion. To know that Keith didn't even have that much faith in his skills hurt…

It hurt a lot.

"Fuck you, Kogane!" Lance screamed, his voice raw with hurt. "You can stay here! I'm going to Tellru and Dravla's you- You stupid mullet!" He whisked around, and stomped towards the door. A sound of rushing feet followed after him.

Then there's a hand grabbing his wrist and pulling him back before he can grab the handle. Lance fights him, refusing to fall into his actions. To let himself be swayed by his gentle voice and searing eyes.

"Let go!"

Keith grunts when Lance almost elbows him, and the two stumble across the room before they trip on the rug and fall along the bed. Momentary dazed, Lance almost screams when he realizes the red paladin is looming above him, just as startled.

Keith is looking at him and has his hands on either side of his head, flat against the sheets of Lance pinned form below him. The anger Lance felt seconds ago shifts into something different. Maybe because of the look Keith's giving him- It makes him feel like he's going to be eaten alive.

"L-Let me go," he whispers feebly.

"Not…" Keith swallows, attempting to calm himself down, "Not until you hear me out,"

"What more do I need to hear? You made it pretty clear how you felt…"

"That isn't what I meant!"

"You don't trust me!"

"Of course I trust you!"

"No you don't! You won't even let me go to the fucking bathroom by myself Keith! You're smothering me!" Lance reached out to grab a pillow, slamming it upward to Keith's face, "Why can't you believe in me!"

"I do!"

"Bull!"

Keith's hands scrambled at Lance's wrist, struggling to pull the pillow away, "I do trust you! Its everything else that I don't!"

His words caught Lance off guard and he froze.

With a muffled voice, Keith screamed, "I don't know what you are doing to me Lance! Everything was fine until we came here. We got injured, and yeah at times I got worried one of us would die, but it never terrified me this much before! I don't want you to protect me because- because that would put you at risk! I know you can do it- but there is always that chance you might die! I don't want to lose you! You might die for me and I can't stand that thought! Your life is ten times more important than mine! You almost died once and I'm not used to feeling like this… I'm not used to… to _caring_ so much," his body went limp a little, his voice broken and exhausted. He seemed willing to hide himself in the pillow at this point. "For a long time, it's been only me. Then I had Shiro- but I never had to worry about him. Nothing tried to hurt or kill him- he was fine. A-And then… Then I thought he died and I lost myself. I felt like I didn't have a purpose for so long. When I met you and the team- it was different. And then we became paladins and our lives were threatened so much, but that was fine because it was all of us. All of us had to go through that. But when we came here it isn't my life that is on the line- it is yours."

"Keith-"

"I don't know what I should do, Lance. How should I feel about you? What is wrong and was it right? I've never felt like this before and it's driving me crazy! I want to protect you! I want nothing to hurt you or touch you- Sometimes I just want to lock you away where no one but me can see you, but that is wrong! It's wrong, right? It's weird and creepy for me to think that and I'm trying not to because I don't want to make you uncomfortable!" he babbled.

Lance held his breath, absorbing the fact that Keith felt the same way he was, "Keith wait-" Lance tried to cut in, hoping to makes sense of everything being thrown at his face. The red paladin wouldn't allow him- too enveloped in his rant.

"B-Because I trust you Lance! I trust you with everything! But I don't trust anyone with you!" his voice cracked, and Lance wondered if perhaps he was crying. Wanting to check, he moved the pillow.

He realized a second to late that it might have been a mistake because then Keith was kissing him. Desperate, rough, wet… yet soft? It was a whirlwind.

Keith kissed in a way that Lance wasn't used to. It made him feel special, wanted, needed.

When they pulled away, he sobbed for air, "Me too,"

"What?" Keith whispered frantically.

"I… I trust you, Keith. A-And I know you are just trying to get past this right now," he cups his face and forces their eyes to meet. It didn't take a genius to realize how much Keith has lost in his life.

His father passed away at a young age, he never knew his mother, no friends or other family. He even lost the only brother figure he had for a while and was suddenly thrown into a galactic war just to learn you aren't completely what you always thought yourself to be…

To Lance, the fact that Keith still managed to bless his life with a smile was extraordinary.

Of course Keith wouldn't know what to do. Lance, who was more well-rounded support wise didn't even know what to do.

He just knew that communication was important. You might not be able to come up with an answer but addressing the issue and knowing it is there is just as important. "I… God, I don't know what we are doing,"

Keith sniffs once and nods numbly, "I don't have a clue,"

"Me either- but that is okay because I want to figure it out with you. But… but Keith, the way we are going right now isn't right. You don't… _own_ me, and lately, it feels like that is the way you've been treating me. Not- Not completely, but whenever we go out."

Keith sat up a little, brushing at the tear rolling down his face, "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to do that. Tellru talked to me too… I had no idea."

"I know," Lance tells him softly, "That is why I want to talk to you about it- maybe find something that makes both of us comfortable."

Keith is quiet for a long time, "You don't have to do that,"

Lance doesn't understand, "Huh?"

"You don't have to- I'll just do what you say. If you want me to back off, or if I get too clingy, I'll back off. Just tell me…"

Surprised he wasn't even attempting to make some sort of plea for his case or something, Lance opened and closed his mouth in shock, "I-"

"I know you aren't too comfortable around me, Lance,"

Lance sputters, "Excuse me? Who told you that?"Keith sits up, puzzled and struggling to make his way through this conversation,

Keith sits up, puzzled and struggling to make his way through this conversation, "Y… You did. At the station. You said- you don't need me, Lance."

Lance gasped, covering his mouth. "Oh! Oh no no! Wait no!" he grabs Keith's hands, "I didn't mean that! I mean- I did, but not in that way!" it was only now, after recalling Keith had been orphaned at a young age, that Keith might have had a lot of problems with not being needed. He was never actually adopted after his Father passed away- How often had he felt unwanted? Un-needed.

"I want you Keith!" Okay, back track, and sound a little less suggestive there, Lance, "I mean I- Not in that way! I need you in my life! I want you in my life! Not to say I wouldn't- I mean, you are hot and all…" Lance slapped himself, "Does this make any sense?" he demanded, flustered.

Keith blinked rapidly, his cheeks red, "I… I don't know."

Lance gulps a few calming breaths, "Look…I really do like you, Keith," he admits, "I… want you in my life, but I don't need you to babysit me. I don't need you to be some shield for me. I just… I need you- but as someone who stands next to me, as an equal. That is what I meant,"

"You mean that?"

"Yes,"

Keith reaches a hand up from the mattress, cupping the side of Lance's face. "Okay," he tells him. "I can do that…"

The smile he receives from Lance makes Keith's heart skip a beat, "You okay with that?"

Keith is mesmerized, nodding, "Y-Yeah."

"I'm glad,"

Keith wants to kiss him. He holds off when Lance begins to talk.

"So I don't mind the possessiveness that much. Just… not too much, is what I'm trying to say. Don't keep me locked in the room, let me go off on my own- but I like the kissing and whatever…."

"You do?".

His stare is too much and Lance glances away, "Course I do.." he mutters, "I-" when he lifts his head, Lance finds himself pulled towards Keith. Without so much of a second to gasp, he is tugged into a kiss. Opening his mouth, startled, their tongues collide in a maddening mess of saliva. Lance gets dizzy from it, pulling back and gasping.

"Keith…'

"I don't want to smother you- but I also want to smother you. I want to baby you and coddle you," Keith glances away, "I'm sorry,"

Lance shook his head, "N-No, no it is okay. I… I feel that way too,"

Keith snapped his gaze back, "You… You do?" he whispers

"It's a weird feeling…"

Keith nods in agreement, "I want to- I want to keep you to myself,"

Lance blushes a little and chuckle nervously, "I.. I feel the same. But we can't do that, Keith. We have to be willing to let the other go off. To talk and meet new people and learn things on our own." Sitting up a little, the two embrace. "We can't always be right next to each other… There will be times when things try to hurt us, and we can't always stop them."

Keith tightens his grip, biting his lower lip. He hated to admit it, but Lance was right.

"We can't avoid any bad thing that happen… we just have to try out best when they arrive," Lance kisses his temple, "We are paladin's of Voltron- fighting and getting hurt is part of the job description,"

Keith sighs sadly, "I know…"

"So, lets make a deal. If you feel worried about me, if you don't like what I am doing- tell me, and we'll work it out together. We'll talk it over," Lance says to him, "I can't promise I wont do something dangerous, just like how you can't always promise me that either- but we'll try. We'll trust in the other to always come out on top when dangerous things happen. I'll trust you- and I want you to trust me."

"I do…." Keith paused, considering something. Thinking it over, he says, "I trust you," Keith reached behind him. Lance hadn't expected him to pluck his traditional Galra blade from his belt. When he held it up to Lance, time froze.

"What?"

"Here,"

"…Huh? What?" Lance asked quietly.

"I'm proving to you that I trust you with everything." he placed it in his hands. Lance almost dropped it. "Hold on to this for me."

Keith didn't let anyone touch this. Lance had seen Shiro hold it once, with Keith hovering close by, taking it back within 30 seconds. The whole time he had looked anxious, eyes flickering back and forth between Volition's leader and his blade.

But now, Keith didn't even bat an eye. He seemed content with his choice, and even dared a smile.

Bumping his forehead to Lance, he sighs peacefully, "I trust only you with this,"

"A-Are you sure?" he asked nervously. "This is- this was given to your by your mother, Keith. It's the last thing you have of her,"

"I'm not giving it to you to own. Just to hold on to and watch over for me for a while," Keith assures him. "...But if you wanted it, I would give it to you,"

"Keith," He gasps, "I-I can't…"

"Then hold onto it. Just for a little while. Let me prove to you that I trust you," Keith kisses him. "Okay?"

Lance shivers, eyes flickering down then up again, "…O-Okay," he says shakily. "If you're sure,"

"I am,"

"Does that mean I can also borrow your belt?"

Keith raises an eyebrow, "Why do you need my belt?"

"Cause it's got that little holster for it," Lance tells him. "I don't have anything to carry this thing," he explains.

"Ooh…" Keith reaches for it. Taking it off, he holds it to Lance to take. Lance looks oddly smug.

"Eh, look at that. I already got you taking off your clothes for me," he snickered.

Almost falling off the bed, Keith screeched something and threw a pillow at his face. "Lance! We were having a moment!"

"What?" he cackled, "I had to take the chance!"

* * *

 _REPLIES TO REVIEW BECAUSE I ALWAYS FORGET TO DO THIS!:_

 **Ellie:** _Thank you so much! It means so much to me that you enjoy this story so much! ;-;_

 **Thefuckisabrotp:** _YOU STAYED UP THAT LATE? I HOPE YOU WEREN"T TOO TIRED THE NEXT MORNING! FOREVER IS A LONG TIME BUT I'LL TRY_

 **Ashlielle:** _Oh my gosh thank you! Nobody hurts Ruru indeed! They shall die if they do! *takes cookie* Thank you ;-; I love cookies. I even mentioned cookies a lot in this chapter XD It is always worth it to write this, all you reviews are so nice to me! Thank you so much! Honestly, I'm always so pumped to post a new chapter, I never feel pressured at all :D_

 **Guest :** On his psychological damage? I guess I never really thought he would have any since he wasn't held as a prisoner prize for that long. Perhaps a day or two, and nothing really happened to him other then they threw a shirt on him and sat him up on the top to watch Lance fight. So I guess at the time I didn't really think any kind of mental damage would have lingered. He was just happy to have Lance back. But thank you so much for reading it! :D

 **Phoenix51:** Thank you so much! Thank you for reading!

 **Ewink18:** I"m so glad that you like this so much! I hope you liked this chapter too!


	19. A little bit more

The first thing Lance saw when he woke up was Keith's eyes.

He never woke up at the same time as Keith. They both just tended to follow their own mental clocks, waking up at different hours or having to be awakened by the other.

For the first time since arriving, however, Lance was surprised when their eyes opened in unison. Or perhaps, Keith had been awake for a while and was just staring at him- he wasn't sure. The pounding of his heart was too afraid to ask.

When their gaze's lock within the twilight before dawn, Keith smiled, whispering, "Good morning," the corners of his eyes crinkle in into a fond smile, as if his day just officially started now that Lance was awake.

It has his breath stalling in his chest.

Something… Something was changing.

It was hard to look Keith in the eye anymore. There is an expression there, deep and just so _raw,_ it has him quivering.

If that isn't enough, it just grows whenever Keith stares at him, sparkling brighter when Lance stares back. Soft, warm, and something indescribable through words.

"Morning…" he whispered back, shaky and breathless. This early in the morning and he's already lost his breath.

Keith's hand reaches out, caressing his cheek. His fingers smell like soap- he's been taking baths more often lately. The very touch of his fingers makes Lance's skin tingle, like he's transmitting sparks between them.

"Sleep well?" he inquired

"Yeah. You?" Lance nuzzles into his hand. He shifts and presses himself against the other paladin, seeking more of his warmth.

"I had a dream about a whale or something,"

Lance snorts, "That's weird,"

"Yeah," he says, cradling Lance's head gently.

He craned his neck to look at him, "You know, I was never really a morning person till I got into high school. I hated waking up early, and sometimes I still do- but it's sometimes my favorite part of the day. It's quiet, relaxing, and the air feels different," Keith's periwinkle eyes are dark with understanding and Lance hurried on, "I like how it feels crisp,"

"Back on earth, I would wake up early every day at that cabin I was staying in. The sun rising in the distance was something else. I never got sick of the view,"

"We should go see the sunset in this world someday,"

"I'd like that,"

Smiling, Lance lifts his arms a little, wrapping them around Keith's torso, "Ready for another day of stares, life threats, and awkward social laws?" he joked, nuzzling into Keith's neck, kissing it lightly.

Keith rolls his eyes, "I wish they could just give this whole equivalent thing a rest," he admits,

"Yeah me too. But it is their cultures so we can't do much," Lance, eyeing Keith's adorable little ear, busies himself with kissing it. Keith tilts his head a little to better the angle, allowing Lance's action, "Equivalents are basically like husbands or wives." Lance mumbles against the lobe of the ear.

"You aren't expected or threatened to get married in our world," Keith says. He sounded like he intended to sound rough, but Lance's lips on his skin were making it hard to stay grumpy.

"Well I mean, not where we lived- but I think that was totally still a thing in a lot of different places around the world,"

Keith frowns, "Oh, yeah."

"Plus, mates are super important to animals. Coeihns are probably just more connected with their wild side~" he licks Keith's ear.

Keith shivers, "Still….How is sex such an important thing to these people?"

"It is an important thing to humans too," a graze of his teeth to Keith's pulse and he had the red paladin slowly tilting his head into his pillow, eyes closed in bliss. Lance keeps going, loving the sensation of Keith's neck on his mouth.

"Not this important...It doesn't decide status- ngh… m-most people get looked down on if they lose their virginity at a young age." Keith stammers.

Lance pauses, his gaze saddening, "They do," he agrees with a sigh.

Keith quickly caught himself, "I wasn't talking about you," he says. "I mean just- of course not everyone means to. That doesn't make you're a bad person if you do. You aren't a bad person. I don't mind that you did. Or if anyone did. I-"

Watching him, Lance smiles, "I know." he chuckles, finding it adorable how flustered Keith was getting.

"You just- you got sad there for a second," he reaches for him, brushing his thumb over his eyebrow then trailing down to his jaw, rubbing gentle circles into it. Keith wasn't an idiot, he knew Lance being impure meant that he had lost his virginity. He had meant to say that like he looked down at Lance in any way. It was actually quite the opposite.

"I got it, Keith," he assures him, "You didn't hurt my feelings," he returned to kissing along his jaw, "It was my own fault for going to that stupid party,"

"You lost it at a party?" Keith runs his hands through Lance's hair soothingly.

"There was something in the punch…"

"What do you mean?" Lance hesitated. Lingering for a moment too long on the pause, he sucks down hard on Keith's throat. Keith isn't expecting it and gasps, "Lance~"

Not even realizing Lance had forced a topic change, Keith couldn't think of anything else but the slow hickey being brought to the surface by the blue paladin's lips.

"Hickey, hickey~" Lance sang when he was done.

"Don't… Don't announce it to the world," Keith grumbled, glancing down at it cautiously. He thought it would have hurt, and in some way it did. But _oh_ , it had felt so amazing too.

"But I kind of want to," Lance chuckled, "I, Lance McClain, have bestowed upon you, Keith Kogane, your first hickey. Praise the high angels!"

"Stop,' Keith flicked his forehead. "You said before you weren't an exhibitionist."

"I would totally be one for you,"

" _Stop,"_ Keith commands with a little more insistence.

"You're blushing,"

"No, I'm not."

'Yes you are~"

" _S. T. O. P,"_ Keith pushes him back on the bed and rolls them over, "I'm giving you at least two for that,"

"Hickeys?" Lance inquired as Keith descends on his throat

He is already kissing his Adam's apple when he husks, "Yes,"

"You even know how to?" Lance smiles, almost purring at the feeling.

"I saw how you did it," he sucked below Lance's ear to show his point

Lance turned his head, smiling, "Monkey see monkey do?" He choked off when Keith allowed his teeth to graze along the spot. Lance bit his lip, trembling at how delicate his skin felt.

"Monkey see monkey do…" Keith pulled away to examine his mark. Something flashed behind his eyes and they darkened. He leaned back down to lick the hickey.

He seemed almost pleased by it.

"Lance," he says sensually. His lips trail to his collarbone. Watching him quietly, Lance struggles to hold his breath steady as Keith took his time to locate the perfect spot for his second hickey.

He chooses to place it right below his right ear, nibbling on the spot till it bruised purple.

With a tingle up his spine, Lance reaches a hand up to touch the spot. Keith stops him, placing his hand back to his side, pinning it there.

"What-?" He surprised Lance when he sucked heavenly along his jaw, assaulting the skin into another budding mark. "H-Hey," Lance pushes him back a short distance, "You already gave me two," he points out shakily, his breath uneven. Taking a moment to appreciate the sight below him, Keith pauses.

Lance inhales when he smirks. He is leaning into him, holding his wrists prisoners. "One more," he asks him. Lance is melting to his touch.

It was only then, watching Lance blush and willingly submit to his will, that he realized how effective his smirks seemed to be to the blue paladin. He would have to remember that for later….

"Just- not too many…" he mutters

Feeling Lance's pulse shot up he says, "I'll try to hold back," he leans down, attaching to the blue paladin's neck once more.

Managing to entice Lance to go with this for another couple minutes, Keith pulled away to brush some spit from his lips. Lance was puffing heavily below him, his neck swelling in a hot mess of red and purple blemishes

"You cheater...," he whined, running his hand along his neck, "I only gave you one,"

Keith shrugged. "You could have told me to stop."

Lance pouts at him, shoving him back a little to look towards the window, staring at his reflection. Keith wraps his arms around Lance shoulders, staring at the sight with a smug grin, "Look at this mess," Lance sighs, "How am I gonna hide this?"

"Don't hide it," Keith requested. With a small pause, Keith's hand slowly lifted to brush Lance's bang behind his ear, "I like to see them,"

With a quickening pace to his heart, he lowered his gaze, "And you claim that I'm the exhibitionist? You sir, are definitely uninhibited sometimes."

"Only for you," Keith mimicked Lance's words from earlier

"You're unbelievable," Lance grumbles, pulling Keith in for a kiss. "This is why I shouldn't show you things."

"I knew about hickeys. I just didn't know how you gave people them.."

"How did you think you got hickeys?" Lance snorts, finding the notion funny.

Keith shrugs a little, "I dunno… your teeth or … you pinched them, or something."

Lance covers his mouth to laugh, "You thought couples just pinched each other's necks? Ooh, how sexy,"

"I didn't know okay! It isn't like you have a manual for this," Keith hits him.

Lance cackled, "Yeah. That is probably why they don't teach you about it in school either."

"They taught about sex in school,".

'No I mean- they tell you about sex, but they don't tell you the details. They don't tell you how to do it- the juicy details and tricks to it."

"Tricks?" Keith frowns.

"You know… like how to give some a hickey properly. Where the sensitive parts of the part are to kiss," he teases.

"Ooh." Keith realizes awkwardly, "I guess so. Your parents probably tell you, right?"

Lance laughed, "You think my parents taught me how to- no! No way, dude. Did your Dad tell you how to have sex with someone?"

"Of course not."

"Yeah, because it isn't a normal thing. I mean, I've had the talk with my Dad and Mom. You know, talking about being safe with it so not to get someone pregnant or get diseases- but like hell they would ever tell me how to stretch someone out." he lifted his fingers and make scissoring motions. Lance regretted to action instantly when Keith titled his head, puzzled.

"...Stretch someone out?"

Lance froze and slowly turned his gaze to him. Constantly forgetting that this was a little baby virgin who did no research into this at all, he slowly lowers his hand, "Nothing."

"No, tell me."

'You don't want to know, dude. It's uh- inappropriate."

"I'm not a kid, Lance."

Lance purses his lips, questioning how they ever came to this moment. In all honestly, he should have expected it. He only has himself to blame.

"It's uh… it's what you do before you have sex. Y-You stretch someone out."

"So not to strain a muscle? I didn't think people took the time to just stretch before they did that. Is it like Yoga?" Keith blinks at him with wide eyes and Lance just wants to kiss that perfect face.

"No… Jeez Keith, no." he was too cute. Lance couldn't take it, "That isn't what I meant. It is to prepare you for sex not- oh my god, it's definitely not Yoga you sweet baby plum.."

"What did you mean? What does stretching mean then?" Keith huffs, embarrassed and humiliated.

Lance lifts his head, staring at Keith hard in the eyes. "Well…" He rolled, moving right over Keith. Starling him, Lance propped himself up using his arms, his hands resting on both sides of Keith's head. Looming over the shocked paladin, Lance smirks, "I could show you, if you wanted~"

The wide-eyed look of shock matched by the reddening cheeks made the very embarrassing suggestion worth it.

Keith took at least a few seconds for his brain to catch up with him and grabbed a pillow. He hit lance in the face with it. Lance laughed.

"I was just kidding!" he cackled.

Keith continued to throw pillows, his face blooming red. "I'm not one for jokes,"

"I know," Lance grinned.

When the pillows were all tossed to the floor, the two got ready for the day. It was kind of chilly out today, lucky for Lance, and he was able to zip up his new jacket he got from Tellru. He adored the collar even more now that he could cover his neck.

Keith on the other hand, let his jacket hang open, revealing his neck for all to see, or more specifically, the single hickey. Lance swore he was trying to show it off, a look of pride crossing his features.

Despite what Lance said before, it was actually very embarrassing to see the mark every single time he looked at the red paladin. He was almost tempted to just zip Keith's jacket up for him, but his pride wouldn't allow him too.

Keith would just smirk and tease him if he tried.

"Here you go," Keith is hanging him his blade. Taking it carefully, he examines it closely. Never normally getting a chance to be this close to it, he admires the purple glint to it.

"Okay," Lance grins as he puts on Keith's belt so that he could place his blade on it. "You have such a little waist," he tells him, noting the worn out hole Keith tended to buckle to when wearing this. He had to go one up from his, making the belt bigger.

"Shut up," Keith huffs, adjusting the holster and placing the blade within. Lance turns around to examine himself, then checks to make sure the sword is secure.

"How do I look?"

"The same- you can't really see it," Keith tells him honestly. Lance hits him a little.

"You are supposed to say I look great."

'You always do."

"...?!" Lance chokes on his own spit,

"...!" Keith turns to escape the room and slams into the door instead. When he fell to the floor in a large heap, Lance moves over to look down at him, eyes wide and sparkling.

"You think I look great?" he gasped.

Keith rolls onto his stomach to hide his face, "Shut up."

"But do you?" Lance persists.

"Shut up!"

"Answer the question!"

"I just said I did! Why do I have to repeat myself?" he wailed. Lance leaped up, enraptured with joy.

"Keith thinks I'm good looking~" he says to no one in particular.

"Don't let it go to your head," Getting to his feet, Keith dusted off his knees, "C'mon already. Let's go,"

"Kay~" he zips up his jacket, securing it. Keith locks in on the motion.

"You're zipping up your jacket?" he asks. Lance doesn't notice his quick peek to Lance's neck.

"It's cold. Why wouldn't I?" Lance inquired as they step out into the hall. Keith's gaze follows him, and then tears away to the floor.

With a little shrug, he locks the door and they head down the hall.

"What do you want to do today?" Lance inquired as they walked down the steps.

"Don't really care,"

"Well, we have to meet up with Dravla." Lance reminds him, "You are on probation, after all. Ya delinquent,"

"Oh yeah," he frowns. There is a sudden pause.

Sensing Keith's stare, Lance turns to him. There is an unspoken hesitation between the two of them and Lance isn't sure what it is caused by. Noticing Keith's hand twitching a little, he tilts his head.

Then, Keith reaches for Lance, pauses, and lowers his palm back down to his side. Not sure what that was about, Lance asks, "What's up?"

"Can I…" Keith clears his throat, unsure," I wanted to hold your hand," he whispers so quietly that Lance almost misses it.

"When have you ever asked to hold my hand?" he snickers, reaching and entangling their fingers. This brings forth a little sigh of relief from the red paladin, his shoulders relaxing.

"I don't want to be possessive," he explains softly. Lance puts his other hand on his heart, touched.

"You're trying," he cooed.

"You told me it bothers you," Keith grumbled quickly. With a little skip to his step, Lance tugs Keith a little closer. Taking Keith's hand, he wrapped it around his own waist, placing the red paladin's palm snugly along his hip.

Startled, Keith's eyes are wide when Lance winks at him. "I'll tell you if it is too much. Just do what you always do," he assures him. Taking the liberty to wrap his arm around Keith's shoulders, he kisses his cheek. "Okay?"

"Oh…" Keith smiles a little, "Okay."

'But don't smack Dravla when he tries to pat my shoulder or anything." Lance warns him.

"I won't." he insists.

"I'm watching you," Lance points to his eyes than to Keith's. "Dravla's done a lot for us…"

"He has."

"So don't be mean,"

"I'm never mean,"

"Oh Pfft, please." Lance rolls his eyes. Looking ahead, he squinted his eyes out the window to the kingdom. His vision had increased tenfold since they had first arrived, but many things were still blurry. It was like he was nearsighted, able to view objects and people up-close, but at distances, things blurred together.

"Do you think Coeihns wear glasses?"

"Glasses?" Keith asks.

"Well, I'm kind of like someone who just needs glasses." Lance tells him, "I could see if I could get some."

"Oh," Keith nods, "We should ask Dravla," Keith pondered what Lance would look like with glasses. He knew they tended to make your eyes look a little bit bigger. To him, Lance would look… adorable. "Hope they do," he mutters more to himself than Lance.

"Would definitely make everything a little bit easier to see," Lance conquers. He paused to look over his shoulder.

He had been doing this ever since they left the apartment. He would pause every few minutes to reach behind him, running his hands across Keith's Galra blade. Check to ensure it was still there and safe, he would nod to himself.

"You don't have to keep checking on it," Keith tells him, eyes warm.

"Uh- yes I do," Lance shakes his finger at him, "This is one of your most important possessions. I gotta keep it safe."

"Lance. I go into battle with that all the time and I've never once even dropped it. It won't just fall off because you are walking around,"

"What if someone tries to steal it while I'm not looking?" Lance questions him. "You trusted me with this, and I'm going to do the best job ever at keeping it safe till I give it back to you."

Keith laughs is lined with so much affection that Lance feels his legs buckle. "Got'cha."

Sitting down at the bench outside of the apartment, they wait for Dravla. They aren't allowed, because of Keith's probation, to go around the Kingdom without him, so they waited most mornings for him to arrive.

They sit in silence, listening to the passing of Coeihns and birds above.

"So…" Lance glances at Keith when he realizes the Red paladin didn't plan on talking as they waited. **"** You seem distracted," Lance notes. The red paladin shrugs a little, "What are you thinking about?"

Keith's shoulders going stiff and he shakes his head, "Nothing."

"C'mon, tell me," he smiled, nudging him a little, "I wanna know what you're thinking about,"

"It's nothing, just- It's stupid."

"Stupid means more than nothing,"

Keith snorts, "It's…" he lowers his gaze and Lance doesn't understand why he started to blush.

"What?" he questioned.

"I was just thinking about your jacket."

"My jacket?" he glances down at it, "What about it?"

"It's dumb."

"I am already invested in this conversation," Lance puffs his cheeks, "Just tell me."

Glancing at him, Keith makes an unwilling groan. Finally, he muttered, "I just- I would have preferred you unzipped your jacket," Keith admits quietly.

"Unzip my-?" Lance understands in a second, "Dude, I'm not showing off the hickeys,"

"I know, that is why I said I would prefer if you did it and that it was dumb. You don't actually have to," Keith tells him quickly, "I just… would have _liked_ for everyone to see them, is all,"

"...Uninhibited," Lance murmurs quietly in both horror and awe. Keith hits him, blushing hard.

"You asked what I was thinking, so I told you!" he yells.

"I didn't think _that_ was what you were thinking!" he had expected himself to get angry, or scold Keith for even suggesting such a thing- perhaps even consider him a pervert or something.

Of course, he _thought_ he would.

He also thought there would be no possible way he would ever reach up, grab the zipper, and tug downward.

Keith turned at the sound of said zipper being pulled.

"Fine," Lance says shakily. Lifting his hand, he moved the top of the jacket to the side, revealing his neck. Hickeys lined the skin, sticking out for the entire world to see.

Keith held his breath. The sight entranced him, and felt prideful that he was the one who put them there.

But he hadn't expected Lance to take him seriously- he sure was thrilled that he did

"Only for a little while…" The flushed blue paladin adds. Keith tightened his grip on his quivering hand, mesmerized. With a numb nod, he scooted a little closer.

"Okay…" he coincided. The urge to reach out and touch him was staggering, so without a sound, he lifted his hand. With the pads of his fingers, he caressed caramel skin, guiding his touch upward to cup the back of Lance's head.

Delicately, he turned the blue paladin to look at him, entrapping him within his gaze.

Lance shivered, eyeing him wearily, his eyes dark with…

Keith didn't know what it was. A tender and stunning emotion that had his heart going wild.

With an impatient yearning feeling his eyes flicked to Lance's lips.

Licking his own, he leaned forward to kiss him. Their mouths barely graze together before someone yells,

"Ew, Cooties,"

Ruru, and for some reason, Harri, were standing in front of them, faces contorted in disgust.

Lance yelled and pulled back, eyes wide with panic, "Ruru?! Harri?!" He demanded

"Hi," they waved.

Dravla was standing behind them, laughter pouring out of his mouth and into his palm in an attempt to silence himself, "O-Oh yeah. I can definitely see it now. You two _can't_ be Equivalents. It is just normal for two friends to do what you two do,"

"Shut up, Dravla!" they roar at him, faces matching in a crimson color.

"Mr. Lance?' Harri tugged on his pant leg.

He turned his body towards the child, keeping a warning glare towards the adult Coeihn present, "Yeah?"

"What are those weird marks on your neck?"

Lance screeched something incoherent and zipped his jacket up, much to Keith's disappointment. "Nothing! Nothing at all!"

"Oh… okay?"

"Harri, what are you even doing here?" Lance questions, exasperated.

"My Papa let me out of the castle!" the young prince grins! "I mean, I still gotta travel with a guard, but I get to come play with other kids!" he cheered.

"Oh…" Lance blinks. "What a sudden change,"

"I was surprised too," Dravla agrees, "But the King said he got inspired by a new view of thinking from an unexpected source,

"What does that mean?"

With a dazzling smile, Dravla grins, "Who knows?" he ruffles Lance's hair. "Oh… wait," he pulls back, "Sorry, Keith,"

"It's fine," Keith corrects him quickly. "I talked it out with Lance. We're okay."

"Yeah," Lance beams, wrapping his arm around Keith's shoulders, "We got a plan! So go ahead- ruffle away!"

Dravla ended up ruining Lance's well-combed hair, but at least Keith was still smiling by the end of it.

"Lala, look look!" It was Ruru's turn to talk and she was excitedly bouncing up and down. Her feet were … glowing?

"Oh my gosh, are those pink glow shows?' Lance gasps. "He got them for you?" when he looks at Dravla, the older Coeihn nods.

"After what my baby girl did, she earned them."

Ruru leaps up to make them glow, striking a pose. Lance is whooping, throwing his hands up, "Work it girl! Show those super shoes off!"

He jumped to his feet to strike a few poses with her. Keith rolled his eyes at him, a little smile pulling at his lips.

"So, what are we doing today?" Lance inquired

"Oh yeah, I hope you don't mind I brought them along," Dravla says, "They want to check something out."

"Check something out?"

They ended up getting dragged to some strange event. Apparently, this popular toy was being sold today and the kids wanted to go and see them.

The toy was weird, shaped like a square, and kind of just jumped around? Literally, it was a square that hopped around the place.

"So this is popular?' Lance takes one into his palm. He tosses it to Keith, who examines it.

"Weird…"

Ruru ended up getting five of them.

"Spoiling her much?" Lance asked Dravla.

"Anything for my baby girl, the hero," he states.

"Hero," Ruru claps

Keith and Lance couldn't help but agree, praising her, "Hero," they lift her up high. Getting her one more square toy for good measure, Lance pauses when he feels a pair of eyes on him.

At least, he thought someone was staring at him. Ever since arriving at the planet there had been nothing but stares, so this shouldn't be surprising- but something was different.

It felt.. Like someone was glaring at him.

Not sure where the stare was coming from, he noticed a Coeihn towards the other end of the square.

With his sight, he couldn't guarantee the Coeihn was looking at him in particular, but he started to realize this was true when the man started to walk towards him.

The Coeihn was dressed in normal armor, showing that he was part of the guard, and had a large sword tied to his belt.

With a dark look, he suddenly pointed to Lance and spat something in his face. Keith lifted a protective arm over Lance's chest, stepping between them. Regardless of what the Coeihn was there for, Keith wasn't comfortable with that look in his eyes.

"What does he want, Dravla?" he inquires to their friend.

Dravla steps forward, ("What's the issue here?")

("I come with a challenge! I seek a dual with the Blue Champion!")

("A duel?") Dravla frowned.

("For the right of his pure!")

"Oohhhh…." Dravla cringes.

"What? What did he say?" Lance asks.

"He wants to challenge you for the right to Keith," Dravla says with a bite in his tone.

Lance opened his mouth to yell back, but stopped. Stepping back, and leaned towards their Coeihn friend, "Can he do that?" he whispered.

"Yes."

Lance gasped in horror, "He can?"

"Yes. If their ranking is high enough, they can."

"What the hell Dravla? Why didn't you mention this before!?"

"Because I assumed you two would become equivalents by now," he grumbled. "To summarize, until a Coeihn is claimed and actually becomes an _Equivalent,_ with Keith isn't, virtually anyone can fight to make them theirs. You won Keith, but you never finished claiming him because he is obviously still pure. This is why it is usually recommended to make your pure your full equivalent as soon as possible so that no one tries to challenge you for them. If you had required Keith, and made him your full Equivalent, no one could challenge you for him. He would be yours and yours alone. It is against law to be with another person's equivalent. It is bounding, for life."

Lance ran a hand through his hair, "Then what do I do?"

"Make Keith your Equivalent, duh," Dravla tells him

"N-No! That isn't what I meant! I mean, what do I do about this guy?" he motions to the Coeihn.

"Ooh yeah, him. I mean, you could still try to make Keith your equivalent real fast." he wiggles his eyebrows, "I could totally buy you 30 minutes to get Keith, _hot and desperate_."

Lance screamed and slapped him.

"Dravla!" The two paladins roared, shoving him away. He cackled at their flustered expressions, barely even feeling Lance's slap. He held his hands up in surrender when Keith pulled out his Bayard, his face fuming with humiliating rage.

"I will end your life, Dravla," he warns him

"It was just a joke," he sticks his tongue out, smirking.

"Be serious," Lance hisses.

"Alright alright. You can say no to the challenge, Lance," Dravla says, "There are some cases you can't, but right now, you can definitely say no to the challenge,"

"Then no." Keith grumbles, returning his Bayard to his belt "Lance is still recovering and his eyes have only just started to get better. And I don't appreciate how your people seem to treat me like some object."

Dravla shrugs sheepishly. "You aren't technically a citizen yet, so not many have any respect for you."

Keith scoffs a little, pissed.

"I wouldn't want to fight him even if I was in tip top condition," Lance admits, taking Keith's hand, giving it a comforting squeeze,

"So no fight?" Harri inquires, kind of confused.

"No fight, kiddo." Dravla straightened and called to the Coeihn, telling him to go home and that he was refused. The Coeihn didn't seem to like that answer and started barking things. Lance could assume it was something along the lines of calling him a coward for not accepting.

All normal things.

Then…

Dravla's whole body went stiff, his mouth dropping open in horror. Whatever the Coeihn said, it made the entire clearing stare at him in shock.

"...What did he just say?' Lance says.

The beat of silence had Lance at the edge of his seat. "I'm not repeating it," Dravla concludes, his voice sounding vile, like something diseased just crawled in his ears.

"What did he say?" Lance demands, a little more insistent.

"It's _gross and wrong_ , Lance, no. I'm not repeating it. He was saying…" a chilling look crosses his gaze, "He was saying what he would do to Keith when he got his hands on him."

A fowl feeling boiled in Lance's lower chest when the Coeihn stepped a little closer. He hadn't stopped talking since Dravla started explaining. It got to the point when Dravla had to reach down, covering Ruru and Harri's ears. They gawked at the man in dumbfounded confusion.

("Silence your appalling tongue!") Dravla snapped at the man. The Coeihn sneered instead, jabbing Lance in the chest with his finger. He says something else, but the finger doesn't linger before Keith is slapping it away and stepping in front of him.

"Back off," he warns.

The Coeihn seemed pleased to be so close to Keith suddenly and was eyeing him up and down. The hunger in those eyes had Lance's fingers twitching against his Bayard.

"Keith," he whispers, urging them to just go. Keith didn't object, and moved to step back. The Coeihn reached out, snagging a strand of his hair between his fingers.

Lance choked a little at the sight, his blood running cold.

The Coeihn twirled the black lock of hair possessively, looking over Keith's shoulders to meet Lance's gaze.

Rage, was a pathetic attempt at describing the emotion that embodied his chest.

"Don't touch my hair-" Keith was starting to remove the Coeihn's appalling touch and then, a rush of air to his right. Lance had moved faster than anyone could stop him, his fist held high.

He punched the Coeihn right in the nose, making it curl upward with a sickening _crack_.

The entire square of citizens cringed at the sight, some covering their eyes.

Keith hadn't expected the sudden burst of Lance's wrath- no one had. Even the blue paladin himself couldn't fully understand what he had just done until after he did it. He had just felt so livid, and that was before this guy had the gall to touch his Keith!

...Keith. Touch Keith. Not _his Keith,_ just Keith.

"Lance," Keith grabs his arm, tugging him back, "Hold on," with wide eyes, he takes his hand into his own, examining his reddening knuckles. "What in the world was that?"

"I… I uh…" Lance huffs, looking back and forth from Keith to the slowly rising Coeihn. He was holding his nose, blood dripping from one nostril.

Steadying them both when they got close enough, Dravla sighs, "You just had to go and do that, didn't you?" he groans.

"I didn't mean to," Lance knew that was a lie before the words even came out of his mouth. He would do it again if that guy so much as even looked at Keith for too long.

Frowning, Dravla shakes his head, "Whelp, I hate to say this… but now you just accepted the challenge by initiating a fight,"

"I did?" Lance whispers hoarsely

"Yes,"

"I- I'm sorry," he stammers, "I didn't-" he glanced back at the Coeihn. He was turning, eyes wide and dangerous. There was no getting around this. With shaky fingers, Lance started reaching for his Bayard. Keith's hand stopped him.

With a set gaze, he inquires, "Can't I do the challenge instead?"

Lance turned violently, "What?" he demanded.

"I don't see why not," Dravla says to the red paladin. As they talked, Dravla called to the Coeihn to tell him what was happening.

Lance makes a grab for Keith when he reaches for his Bayard. "Wait wait- no. It's my challenge. I'm the one who caused this," he tells him.

"Relax Lance- this will be over soon,' Keith lifted his blade, examining its sharpness.

Lance refused, sidestepping around him to block his way. "Keith, no," he didn't want Keith to fight for him. To get hurt for him…

Lifting his eyes, Keith inspected him.

"Remember when you said we would talk about things that make us uncomfortable? We'd try to work something out when things got dangerous?" he asks. Waiting for Lance to nod, he adds, "Well this does. You've had to do everything since we got here. Fight, appease the Coeihns, you've done it all. I want to put in my part too," he reaches forward, cupping the side of Lance's face. "I want you to let me do this," Tracing the other's jaw, Keith stepped closer. Removing the space between them, he pressed into Lance's shoulder. "Let me protect you,"

Lance's throat began to tighten and he felt as though he understood what Keith meant. It was unfair for him to say no, wasn't it?

"I don't want you to," he admits in a hushed tone,

"But you'll let me?"

"Yeah." he embraces him, "Be careful."

"I'll end this quickly," Keith nuzzles into him for a few seconds before stepping back. His eyes were burning. Without breaking eye contact, he reached his hand up, twirling his finger against the top of Lance's coat zipper.

Slowly, purposively taking his time, allowing Lance to stop him if he wished, he tugged the zipper downward. Swallowing thickly Lance watched as Keith opened the collar of the jacket, his neck greeting the world, marks and all.

His heart fluttered when Keith husks, "Keep it like this, just until the challenge is done. Okay?" There it was, that smirk. It was something more dangerous than any blade.

Momentarily forgetting how to breath, he sputters, "Y-You really are uninhibited, you know that?"

"Is that a yes?"

Keith draws an answer from his lips with a kiss, "O-Okay. Okay yeah, sure. Just- give him hell,"

"I will," grinning, Keith steps away to face towards the Coeihn. The two move towards the center of the square, allowing some time for the citizens to back away, making a circle around the two.

Twirling his Bayard, Keith bends his knees, holding his sword out in front of him. He motioned for the Coeihn to make the first move. Insulted by Keith's almost cocky request, he growled and charged forward.

Their blades collided with a metallic screech that sent shivers up Lance's spine.

Keith lunged once, twice, swinging and ducking with expert precision. The Coeihn wasn't half bad himself, blocking Keith's attacks with narrowed eyes.

Each swing hand Lance holding his breath- pleading for Keith to dodge, to end it quickly like he said he would. He had seen Keith fight on numerous occasions, sometimes ending the fight quick or sometimes struggling to get through it. He had seen him fight.

He had seen him get hurt.

So why did his chest feel so tight? Why was it a struggle to breath and stay where he was? Why did his legs itch to run out there and put a stop to this? To take Keith into his arms and shield him from everything?

"Come on, Keith!" he yelled words of poor encouragement, his voice weak.

Was this how Keith had felt?

Minutes roll by, both fighters growing sweaty and out of breath. The crowd was ecstatic, calling out cheers and taunts. Ruru and Harri even seemed to enjoy the fight- which was no surprise since the culture was based off of such conflicts.

"Kick his ass!" Ruru yelled. Lance choked on his own spit, gawking at her.

"Ruru!" he scolded, shocked she would even know that word. And in English no less!

Dravla was confused, "What did she just say?" he inquired, puzzled. Lance froze up. Obviously, Ruru had to have learned that kind of language from one of them. He didn't remember saying anything like that in front of her, but who knows about Keith!

So he fibbed, lying through his teeth, "Oh uh- she said….. Butt. Kick his butt,"

"Oh," Dravla started to chant it with her, thinking it was okay, "Kick his ass! Kick his ass!" to Lance's horror, Harri started to join in.

Keith paused for only a moment to gawk at them. Lance shrugged weakly, not sure what else he could do.

Motioning for Keith to focus back on the fight, he watched with baited breath. The Coeihn was good- of course he would have to be, wouldn't he? The Coeihns lived off of duals like this, all of them most likely training since a young age to fight.

Calling for Keith to do his best, Lance clapped and cheered to the best of his ability. Ten minutes rolled by slowly, the crowd pressed tightly together to watch.

Suddenly, Lance felt something moving behind him. The citizens had crowded around all of them, so it shouldn't have been this startling for someone to press against him… but then he felt fingers on his back.

Lance feels an icy hot flash go down his spine, curdling in his gut.

Something behind him gripped at his waist, tight and bruising. It tugged sharply, causing him to stumble back a step or two, and then the sensation was gone.

Not sure what happened till he noticed a lost of weight along his belt, he screamed.

Keith's blade had just been pulled from its holster.

"HEY!" he whirled around in a panic.

An all too familiar Coeihn loomed behind him, gripping Keith's blade between his fingers.

"Rashra!" Lance yelled at him.

The Coeihn blinked, uncaring and wicked. He lifted Keith's blade to his face, examining the details of it.

"Give that back!" Lance stepped towards Rashra. He scoffed and lifted his hand up, keeping it out of Lance's grasp. Lance didn't hesitate to leap at him, trying to get the guy to fall over. "Give it back! That isn't yours!" They stumbled back, their outburst quickly catching the attention of the crowd.

His nails caught along Rashra's lower faces and chest as he scrambled to reach for Keith's blade. Rashra was yelling something he couldn't understand nor care for.

Almost snagging the blade back from Russia's grip, something pulled on his jacket and tugged him back.

"Lance, stop!" Keith had ducked away from the fight to stop him, "You'll get in trouble!"

"He took your blade!" Lance yells, fighting his grasp.

Keith's grip falters, "What?"

("Rashra, that doesn't belong to you,") Dravla calls to him, narrowing his eyebrows.

("This is a Galra blade!") Rashra roared, holding it for the public to see. They give a small startled gasp. Dravla tenses, glancing at Keith in a panic.

Quickly he translates, "He says it is a Galra blade," The crowd is beginning to murmur, whispered to themselves about what this could mean.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that if they claimed the blade as theirs, it might just insinuate they worked with the Galra.

Lance wasn't thinking of this, of course, his only objective to return what was Keith's, and moves to take their belonging back from the Coeihn. He yelped when a hand snagged his wrist and pulled. Falling back into Keith's chest, the red paladin wrapped his arms around his torso, holding him in place.

"Keith?" he demanded.

"Lance, stop." the other instructs.

"Wha- no! He has the blade!" he squirmed to get out of the grip. "Keith, let go!"

Keith ignored him, and opens his mouth, "We took it from a Galra soldier we defeated," He says, gaze set and voice calm. Dravla blinked a few times, dumbstruck. When Keith shot him a look, he quickly translated it to Rashra in their common tongue.

Rashra closes his mouth, staring at him.

"It was a means of a victory prize, nothing more." Keith insists,

"Keith, what the hell?" Lance squirmed. He was usually one to just leap into action in these situations- how was he so calm about this?

With void expression, Keith says, "You can take it,"

"What?" Lance gasped. "No-!" Keith threw his hand over his mouth, silencing him.

"Tell him he can take it. It is just a blade we took from a Galra we killed," Keith instructs Dravla. Hesitant, knowing that was a blatant lie, Dravla speaks loud enough for every Coeihn in the area to hear him. Rashra isn't at all pleased to hear this, and tucks the blade away in his bag.

With nothing more to go off of, he turns and leaves them. Lance wants to stop him.

Screw what these Coeihns thought of them, that blade was something precious to Keith!

"Keith-!" he screams under his palm, elbowing him in the chest. With the challenge forgotten due to Rashra interrupting, Keith manages to drag Lance through the crowd, ducking into an alleyway.

Dravla doesn't follow them; knowing Keith needed to convince Lance to calm down. But, due to his probation, he stuck close enough to at least see Keith's form.

"Lance, calm down!" Keith instructed. Once they were out of earshot, Keith loosens his grip.

"Why did you do that?!" Lance demanded, yanking away, "Why did you let him take it?!"

Keith shakes his head, "It's fine, Lance,"

" _Fine?!"_ he yells. "How is this fine?!"

"It just is, Lance. Drop it and calm down,"

"Didn't it mean anything to you?!"

"Of course it did," he huffs.

"So how are you giving up so easily!? How could you just let that brainless lug head take it?!"

"Lance," Keith bites, irritated, "I mean it-."

"No! I said I would watch over it for you and you just let Rashra take it! Why didn't you fight for it?! Why didn't you let me get it back! This isn't right!"

"It's not!" he finally snaps, "I- jeez, of course it isn't Lance! That blade is mine! Of course, I want it back!"

Lance stumbled, "T-Then why-?"

"Because you would have gotten in trouble for it. Rashra is looking for any reason to throw you into jail or get you executed! It is a Galra blade, Lance. Only Galra's have that. How else was I supposed to explain to everyone why we had that other than I'm Galra? With how distrusting these people are to outsiders, they might have listened to him about cutting off your head since you were the one who had it!"

"That doesn't mean you should have given up the blade!" Lance barked. Keith had almost killed himself when the Blade of Marmora had attempted to take it from him. He never let it out of his sight. How could he just throw it aside like that!? "It's the most important thing to you! It's the only thing you have left from your mom, right?" Lance choked out.

Keith gripped his shoulders tightly, "It's not the most important thing to me, Lance. It's just a blade,"

"It's _your_ blade! A blade from your parents! Yes it is the most important thing! I've watched you Keith- I know how important it is to you!"

"But that doesn't mean it's on the top of my list!"

Lance tugs at his hair, frustrated "How is it not?" he demanded, "What kind of _list of importance_ do you have where that isn't the top thing on it?"

"It just is! It's like- It's fourth on it," Keith screams,

Blood rushed to Lance's ears, making it hard to think, "Fourth?!" he questioned, "What in the world is more important to you than that?"

Keith opens his mouth to scream, but nothing comes out. With an airy noise, he closes his mouth, lowers his hand and turns away. He eventually mutters something heated under his breath, "I just didn't want him to have any means of hurting you, okay? Just leave it at that…"

Dropping his arms to hang loosely at his sides, Lance inhales a few times to calm himself. Letting some clarity wash over him, he nods. Watching Keith's shoulders go tense, his hands trembling with anger, he says, "I know." he steps forward, hugging Keith from behind, "I know, I'm just upset. M' sorry, Keith," holding him close, he buries his face into the back of his neck, inhaling his scent.

Leaning into him, the red paladin said, "It's okay. It isn't your fault. I'm sorry too,"

"I told you I would look after it and I failed on day one," Lance whispers, spiteful to himself. Keith forces them to turn around and look at each other.

"Rashra would have noticed the blade eventually," Keith tells him sternly, "It probably would have happened if I wore it today, so don't blame yourself for that,"

"But-"

"No. You did fine," Keith concludes. Making sure Lance looks at him, he says, "I don't need a blade to remember my parents by. I don't need the blade to know who I am, either."

"Keith…"

Sharing a small embrace, they exit the alleyway to join Dravla again. He bows his head.

'I'm sorry I wasn't able to do more in that situation," he tells them, "I honestly wasn't even aware you had a Galra blade, Keith. We don't actually really ever see Galra outside of their ships,"

"It's okay, Dravla."

Straightening, he tilts his head to the square. Tensing, he quickly motioned for everyone to start moving, "Oop, that Coeihn is looking for you. Probably wants a rematch since your duel was interrupted. Go go go!" they turn and bolt down the road.

"That was awesome fighting though, Mr. Keef!" Harri exclaims as they run

"Keef best fighter!" Ruru leaped up, clicking her heels together. "He go swoosh swash! With his blink!"

"Blade," Dravla corrects.

Running till they got a few blocks away, Harri turns to them with a curious look, "So, that blade really was yours then?"

Keith tenses and glances at Dravla for help. When the older Coeihns says nothing, he hesitantly says, "Uh… yeah."

"But Rashra said it was a Galra blade? The purple aliens?"

"Galra?" Ruru adds in. Keith is looking nervous, scratching the back of his head.

Lance is quick to his aid, "He is half Galra. His Mom was Galra and his Dad was human,"

"Ooh," they nod,

"Is your mom a nice Galra?' Harri inquires.

"I dunno…" Keith glances away, "I don't really remember her. My dad passed away when I was little so I didn't really get to ask him what she was like,"

Harri's eyes go wide, and he steps back. Realizing he said something that made Keith think of something sad, he lowered his gaze. "I'm sorry…" he bites his lower lip, a surprisingly understanding look in his eyes, "I lost my daddy too…"

Lance holds his breath when Keith takes that in. Lowering himself to his knees, he pats Harri's shoulders. It is a quiet gesture, but ones that spoke volumes.

When Keith stands up, he takes Harri's hand and they walk together, talking and speaking of their parents. Lance is mesmerized by both of them, finding the event gentle and filled with so much care.

He tries to talk to Dravla, who talking about Tellru or something, but his eyes refused to draw from Keith for too long. The fact that he seemed comfortable talking with about his Father, welcoming the conversation with open arms, while simultaneously opening Harri up to it, getting the young prince to smile, was beautiful.

Lance felt tears pricking his eyes when Keith laughed, recalling a time his Father had found a chicken in their cupboards. He was grateful to Harri for bringing that out.

So very grateful.

"You okay?" Dravla inquired. Pulled from his thoughts, Lance turned his head to dab his thumb to his eyelashes, catching his tear.

"I'm fine," he says quickly. This caught Keith's attention and he stopped, reaching for Lance.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he reaches up to brush the skin under Lance's eyes, scanning him over.

"I got something in my eye," he lies.

Keith doesn't believe him, "If this is about the blade…"

"It's not. I'm fine, Keith,"

"You're crying," Keith follows him when Lance tries to turn away, persistent.

"Am not,"

"You are,"

Leaning forward to shut him up with a kiss, Lance twirls around him. "I'm just happy," he skips ahead. Left in utter confusion, Keith follows after him dumbly, almost upset Lance didn't give him a chance to kiss back.

"Wait up!" he calls.

* * *

00000-000000

"You still never told me why you were crying," Keith announces, as the two were getting ready for bed.

Lance stops fluffing his pillow, exasperated, "Seriously?" he sighs, "You still haven't let that go?"

"You never told me why,"

"I wasn't crying,"

"I saw the tear!"

Lance groans, over dramatic and frustrated, "It wasn't a big deal, Keith!"

"You were crying, yes it was. It was a big deal to me," Keith follows him around the room as Lance combs his hair, refusing to just let to topic go.

"You are unbelievable," Lance gets himself some water, frowning at the red paladin. He hovered around Lance, eyebrows narrowed in determination. Taking his time to slowly sip his drink, Lance met his gaze with an equal challenge.

The slurping noise resounded between them.

"..."

"..."

"I can do this staring contest all day long, Kogane,"

Keith reaches forward, resting his palms along the counter, trapping Lance between them. Lance stepped back, pressing his back to the counter to put a little space between them. Calmly sipping, Lance wiggles his eyebrow, hoping to hide the fluttery feeling in his heart.

"Do you really want to know?" he teases

"Yes," Keith says, taking this too seriously.

Lance would never actually tell him, but knew he needed something to put himself at ease, "Your mullet. It was so intense in the lighting it made me cry,"

Needless to say, the red paladin was enraged.

"Lance!"

He ducked under his arms to flee towards the bed, "You were the one who demanded I tell you!"

"C'mere!" Keith attempts to grab him. Lance is too quick, scurrying over the mattress to the other side. "Take this seriously!"

"I was! I told you the truth,'

Keith lunges, snagging his wrist and pulling him back. Tossed to the bed, the two roll around, using pillows to hit each other, "You are always causing trouble," Keith huffs at him.

"Ooh, like I'm the only one,"

"At least I didn't go picking a fight today," Keith rolls his eyes.

"No, you just go picking fights every other day. Besides, the Coeihn deserved it!"

"I can't believe you punched the guy. You get yourself into too many dangerous situations," Keith chided him, chucking a pillow at his face.

Lance grunts, and instead of tossing it to the side, he buries his face within it, "I don't get why you are the pissed one- I'm the one who has to listen to him talk about you like your some… sex object." he grumbled. "And then when he touched your hair…" he cuts off abruptly, biting his lower lip.

The silence is deafening.

"What?" When Keith speaks, it makes Lance want to curl under the bed and never come out, "Is that why you hit him?"

Unable to see but still feeling those purple irises on him, he cleared his throat a little. "Um… I guess?"

"You guess?" A dip on the bed is Lance's sign that Keith is getting closer.

"I suppose,"

"You suppose?" Keith crawls close, his breath ghosting along his burning ear.

He attempted to remove the pillow from Lance's face, but he held it in a death grip, "No, I...W-Well, you- a little?" he quivers, "I can't help it,"

That smirk is pressing to his forehead, "Can't help what?"

The pillow is torn from his fingers before Lance can react, leaving his face too exposed in the cold air of the night. "You know what I mean…" Lance murmurs nervously, caught in Keith's eyes. They pull him in deeper, threatening to drown him.

"I don't. Elaborate for me,"

"Keith…" he crinkles his nose, embarrassed and annoyed, "It's because you're… you know,"

"Hmm?"

Lance wants to punch and kiss him at the same time. "You're… not his. You weren't that Coeihns Equivalent," with trembling fingers, he reached out, "You're _my_ Equivalent."

Keith sharply inhaled. Amazed at his speechless expression, Lance listens to him stammer, "U-Um…"

"Sorry," he says quickly, "Was that too weird?" he starts to pull his hand away.

"No," Keith clears his throat, grabbing his palm to keep it there "I just wasn't expecting that." There is a small pause, "Though… I'm technically not your equivalent since I'm still pure,"

Grinning when humor flashed to Keith's eyes, Lance says, "You just had to ruin my awesome line, Mr. Virgin."

"Don't call me that."

"I think I should be allowed to with how unknowing and pure you are."

"I'm not that pure- I know things." Keith insisted with a frown.

"Hickey's don't count," Lance informs him, "But I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for now," cupping his face, Lance pulled Keith down, plopping them both onto the bed. Keith grunted, squealing in shock when Lance's nimble fingers worked around his sides, tickling them.

He squirmed on top of the blue paladin, cackling his name to get him to stop, "I said don't tickle me!"

"But you are so ticklish!" he grinned wolfishly. "Tickle tickle~"

Keith keeled over, laughing till he snorted. Realizing that seemed to be Lance's goal all along by the way he whooped in victory, he smacked his stomach. "Lance!"

He grabbed Lance's cheeks, pinching them painfully till he stopped. "C'mon Keef~" Lance slurred, "Is all-in go'd f'n,"

Keith released him to understand him better, "What?"

"It's all in good fun," smiling, Lance took a moment to examine Keith's face. Batting his eyelashes at him, he admits, "I'm still upset about your blade,"

"I know, I am too. We can try to get it back later," Lying across Lance's chest, his elbows propped around his head to stare at him, and Keith can see Lance's thoughts swirling behind his eyes.

"It's weird that you have some sort of list to what is important to you," Lance tells him. Keith rolls his eyes.

"It isn't like I own that many things. And I don't write the list down or something. It is just an… idea. A concept of things that are precious to me,"

The blue paladin is curious, "What kind of list is it? How many things are on it?"

"A few things. I've never really thought about it too deeply."

"What are your top 5 important things?"

Keith raises his eyebrow, "That seems a little personal, don't you think?"

Lance pouts a little, "You would think after all this time you wouldn't mind sharing a few things about yourself,"

"I've told you a lot of things about myself,"

"And I want to know more. A lot more," the earnest look in his eyes is enough to make Keith's heart stall in his chest.

"...Oh," he whispers.

Lance grins, "How about a deal? I'll make a _list_ or whatever too. I'll tell you my top 5 things that I think are the most important, and you tell me yours."

Keith considers it. He gives in at the little pleading pucker to Lance's lip. "Fine…"

Lance cheers. Adjusting a little, making sure they were both comfy, sprawled across the other, he says gently, "Number 5, go,"

Keith didn't take long to answer, "My hover bike back on Earth,"

"Really?" Lance snorted.

"List yours," he grumbled.

"My skin care products~"

"And you laugh at my hoverbike,"

"Shut up- list the next one,"

"Number 4, my blade,"

"Number 4, my cat Violet."

"I didn't know you had a cat,"

"She is back on earth- If we ever go back I'll show her to you," Lance tells him. "Number three,"

"The team,"

"The guys are number 3 huh?" Lance pursed his lips, "For me, it's my eyes,"

"Your eyes?" Keith questioned.

"..." Lance smiled dryly, "When I was younger, I was terrified of going blind. It was my worse fear. You can't pilot if you are blind… Would this be considered cruel irony?" he inquired.

"Lance…" Keith grabs his hand. Lance squeezes it and quickly says.

"Number 2?"

"My dad… and Shiro. They are kind of on the same level, you know? Just- they guided me a lot."

"Aww," Lance puts a hand to his heart. "Space Dad is on the same level as your Dad? Keith," he cooes affectionately.

"Shut up-" Keith blushes, "He's just- he's helped me when I needed someone most. I wouldn't be who I am today without him. My life almost went down a completely different direction,"

"You don't have to explain," Lance says warmly. "You two are like brothers. Back at Garrison, I thought you were,"

Keith appreciates the comment, "You did?"

"Everyone did. You two were the perfect big brother-little brother duo,"

Keith leans a little into Lance, "What's your number two?"

"My family… the team falls into that category, by the way. I couldn't imagine my life without them." glancing away with a nostalgic sigh, he glances back at Keith. A moment of silence falls between them. The air suddenly felt heavy, the next question bearing like a great weight on their chest, "And number one?"

Keith doesn't answer for a while and eventually mumbles, "Y-You go first."

Lance isn't prepared for this and panics. He isn't actually sure he is ready to admit what his most important thing to him is yet, "You go first."

"You," Keith quickly counters

"You,"

"Lance," he huffs,

"I asked you first," Lance frowns.

There is a long pause, "You,"

Lance clicked his teeth in annoyance, "I told you already Keith, you go first."

"No, You," Keith says quietly, averting his gaze. Lance doesn't notice the blush dusting his cheeks.

"Keith-"

"Y-You…" Keith's hands start to tremble, "I'm saying _you_ , Lance… that is my answer,"

"What do you- oh." Lance's eyes widen. " _Ooh,"_ shocked, he covered his mouth. Behind his palms, his muffled voice inquires, "M-Me?"

Keith confirms it with a nod

He leaned forward, bumping his forehead to Lance's, "You are the most important thing to me right now, Lance," he admits softly, eyes heavy with worry. He was desperate for Lance to accept this… To understand and hopefully, feel the same.

Lance can barely hear him through the pounding of his heart.

"More important that the blade… t-than Shiro or the team…" Everything feels suddenly very real.

Their breathing is loud, their eyes too wide to be normal. The warmth of their connected hands is too vivid for their minds to handle,

"Keith,"

Opening their mouths, they kiss.

The first soft pecks leap to something deeper, hotter, in a second.

They press together urgently, embracing as tightly as their arms allowed, Between their lips, Lance spoke slowly, "My number one… Most important… you… Y-You," It wasn't the most elegant way to confess something so important, but it was enough for Keith to hesitate.

With flushing cheeks, he eyed Lance, mouth open wide. He smiles, beautiful and loving, and Lance realizes something horrible.

It kicked around in his heart, threatening to tumble out of his mouth.

He was in love with Keith Kogane.

Lance surprised Keith when he surged upward to kiss him again, the new realization making his mind go numb. He loved him. He loved him.

Caught in the whirling of their tongues and the ecstasy it brought, the two didn't notice the hour that ticked by through their make out session. Originally pacified with kisses and small touches, Lance was growing impatient.

The want for more was growing in his gut.

With a heavy pop, he tore apart from Keith's mouth, forcing their eyes to meet. Keith froze up, eyes growing to the size of saucers.

Lance eyes were glazed over below him, his chest heaving and flushed. "K...eith…" he whimpered

From the look in his eyes, Keith realizes he is waiting for something- pleading him for something else. Something more that kisses...

Ever patiently waiting for Keith to take the next step further.

The problem was, Keith wasn't sure what that next step was. Lance was right before- he was unknowing and unsure about anything they were doing.

Kissing his lips, his face, his neck- those were the only things Keith had some experience with when it came to Lance… or anyone, for that matter.

What exactly was he supposed to do? What was okay to touch and what wasn't? What would make Lance feel _good?_

It was mind blowing to understand that he wanted that. He wanted to help Lance feel good- to relax around him and drown in his touch. A means of helping him forget every bad thing they were going through and just think of him.

How was he supposed to do that?

"Keith?" Lance's touch burns on Keith's face when he reaches up to him, concerned at his hesitation.

His next action was stupid, regrettably embarrassing, and a cowardly thing to do;

…. He rolled off of Lance, buried himself under the blanket and muttered, "G-Goodnight."

The other is quiet, completely shocked.

The second's tick by, slamming down with a mortifying weight to Keith's ears. There is a shift in the bed, like Lance sitting up. He could feel his blue eyes looking at him, betrayed and pissed.

"Are you serious?" he eventually hears Lance hiss into the air.

Keith doesn't reply, pretending to be asleep.

Quiznack.

Quiznack!

He messed this up. He messed all of this up!

"Ooh," Lance draws out, livid, "You will pay for that, Mullet," Lance swore quietly, his voice pinned with disappointment. Turning the other way, he muttered into his pillow until sleep came to him

Keith stayed awake from another hour, listening to the sound of Lance's breathing through his raging heart.

He had wanted to do more

 _Soo_ much more. But he just got so nervous!

Kneading his bottom lip between his teeth, he mentally punched himself. Stupid! Stupid!

What if he never got the chance like that again? What if he had just ruined things forever?

Of course, there was no use worrying about this now. Lance was asleep and what's done was done. He would just have to suck up his choice and deal with it.

He would need to find someway to figure this out.

He doubted they just had books about these kinds of things as a means to learn. And he couldn't just ask Lance about it- that would be too embarrassing.

Mentally struggling, he collapsed into his pillow, exhausted.

He should just sleep on it for now.

Just about to drift off to sleep, Keith had a thought.

Coeihns tended to shoot Galra down before they reached the planet. They never normally have to physically engage them or fight hand to hand with them.

Tellru herself says she's only ever seen one Galra in her life, and he doubted it was someone from the Blade of Marmora.

So then…

How did Rashra recognize the blade?

* * *

 **Extra**

"Tellru?' Dravla inquired as he fluffed his pillow, crawling into bed beside her. Pausing from her reading, she sent a smile his way.

("Yes, treasure?")

Contemplating something, he inquires, "What does ass mean?"

She lowered her book, eyes wide, "Ass?"

("Yeah.")

Shocked he would even inquire such a thing, she tells him, ("It means ass,") she translates to Coeihn tongue.

Dravla leaped to his feet and started screaming, (THOSE PIECES OF BUBBLEGUM ICE CREAM!)" his natural dad filter was kicking in when he realized Ruru might hear him in the other room, ("Those boys are dead meat!")

Tellru blinked at him, ("...Huh?")


	20. It's a 50 50 chance

Keith awoke to Lance booting him off the bed.

He imitated an apology, batting his eyes innocently, "Oh, did I do that~? My bad," Lance met Keith's gaze with a cross look, "Good morning. Sleep well? You went to be so _suddenly,_ you must have been tired," venom dripped from his tone.

"More or less," Keith says cautiously. Lance huffed, steam practically coming from his nose as he got off the bed to get dressed. Despite being inside, he put on his jacket and zipped it all the way to his chin, hiding his neck from Keith's view like a kind of punishment.

A little disappointed but understanding, Keith ate his breakfast quietly. When they were done, he pushed for conversation. "So um- have any weird dreams last night?"

"I dreamt that there was a mullet in front of me… so I set it on fire," Lance tells him with little remorse.

"...Okayyy," Keith scratches his head and carried on. Lance barely gave him a glance as they got dressed and headed out, refusing to hold his hand when they walked out of their apartment.

Of course, Lance didn't need to always hold his hand- but it was just kind of their thing. They always did it from a force of habit and it felt kind of lonely when they weren't.

He was never normally a hand holder before he came here anyway, so it was strange how accustomed he had grown to it.

To try and make up for the loss, he stuffs his hands into his pockets, but it isn't the same. Lance's hands were soft, assuring and warm and- why was he so obsessed with this? He could go one day without holding Lance's hand, couldn't he?  
Was this being possessive again?

He couldn't tell.

Deciding he had to try and focus on something else other than Lance, his mind wandered elsewhere. Swords. Fighting. That stupid Rashra. The team.

He thought of the color of the ocean- so deeply blue that it swallows you whole. And you willingly let it- desperate for its attention.

Chestnut brown, soft and curly.

Carmel skin that is so smooth you think you must be imagining it's gentle touch-

Keith hit himself when he realized his train of thought hadn't left Lance at all.

"Um…" Lance spoke up quietly next to him, "Can you not randomly punch yourself in public? You scared the crap out of me."

Keith lowered his hands, "Oh, sorry."

Lance shrugs, not sure what else could be said on the topic. At least their Coeihn friend was able to break the silence when the spotted him.

Dravla was tapping his foot impatiently when they arrived at the bottom step, "Could you two move any slower?" he whines.

"What's the rush? Don't you get to skip work since you are Keith's probation officer or something?" Lance inquired.

"Well yeah but- I need to get home," he says quickly, trying to nudge them out the door so they could get a move on.

"What's at home?" Keith asks.

"Tellru,"

"I haven't seen her around much," Lance recalled, "I heard she's been busy,"

"She has and she's been gone for 2 days straight and I haven't seen her once in that time so they sent her home so she wouldn't be in too much pain- so let's gooooooo," he pleads with them quickly, "I feel like my legs are about to give out,"

"You do?" Lance was confused. "Are you in pain? Are you hurt?" Lance and Keith try to examine him, but he refuses to let them stop walking, pushing them towards the Kever station.

"I'll be fine if I get home, jeez. Haven't you ever heard of Equivalent bonds?" he grumbled. When neither of the humans even blinked in response, Dravla frowned. "...You do know about Equivalent bonds, right?"

"Um… you uh-" Lance shrugs, "I thought it was like getting married,"

"You mentioned Marriage before. So humans don't have equivalents?"

"We don't really call each other equivalents, but when two people love each other and are um- lovers, they get married," Lance explains again as the Kever crawls into the station. Very uncaring for the giant bug now having been here so long, they step on without complaint. Sitting down on one of the rows, Dravla stares at the two, almost disapprovingly.

"Yet, somehow, despite this explanation, you tell me you are both not married?"

Lance purses his lips a little, hoping he didn't look embarrassed, "We're not," he takes a side glance to Keith, adding in, "We're not _lovers **,**_ after all,"

Keith lets that settle in, the anxiety in his stomach only growing worse. He wanted to speak up and disagree with Lance- or at least tell him that they _could_ be that- if Lance wanted- but that's the thing, he knew Lance did.

If last night proved anything, it was that Lance cared about Keith, and was willing to take this relationship to the next step.

But Keith ruined that.

"Are you sure?" Dravla pushes,

"Oh yeah. Keith made it very clear," Lance nods, his smile painfully bright, but his voice tight.

"What does that mean?" Dravla raises his eyebrow

"Nothing," Lance looks away

"Lance-" Keith tries to explain, his words dying out in his throat. Sitting in an awkward silence for a few minutes, Dravla clears his throat.

"Huh, how bizarre. I guess I never really thought about how different other races could be. You also mentioned that some have sex before they get, as you say, married? How do you not grow an equivalent bond with those people?"

"I still don't really get what you mean by bond," Lance admits.

"When you bond- you know? Um…" Dravla struggles to explain. To his culture, everyone already knew this, so there was never really a need to explain it that often. "When two Coeihns come together for equivalency, we fall into a kind of heat," he says simply, "This heat goes on for several days…and you don't really need to know the details of this heat because I feel that it should be obvious about what happens during that time,"

"Yeah," The two paladins nod meekly, glad he didn't decide to elaborate.

"But, when the heat is done, the bond is formed between the two people. Coeihns mate for life, and once we find an Equivalent, we never get another one ever again. The bond is- um… it affects your body and mind? If you did not care for each other already before the Equivalency, then the bond will assure your feelings."

"...Can you use baby words, because I'm still not getting it," Keith confessed

Dravla sighs, "The bond makes the other your equivalent. Equivalents become the most important thing in your entire life. You can't live without them." he smiles, "You live for them. That is why you must treat your equivalency with the utmost care because once you're an equivalent, you can't ever break that bond. This bond is so strong that- that you can't be away from your own equivalent for too long. It… _hurts,_ to be away from them."

"It hurts?" Lance blinked once before saying, "You're in pain from not seeing Tellru for this long?"

Dravla nods, his hand lifting to his chest, "I feel like my skin is being peeled off my body… I can't feel my toes and my fingers are numb…" he laughs dryly, "Tellru already calls me very needy, so I feel this way after only being away from her for an hour. It's kind of troublesome when we both have worked all day."

"Whoa…" Lance says in almost wonder, "I never noticed anything like that. S-So what happens if you are away from each other for two long?"

"We don't die if that is what you are worried about. But… it feels like we are. I've never experienced any pain that is worse than being away from Tellru for too long..." he looks away sadly. "When an equivalent dies, usually the other does too. Obviously, I've never experienced it, but it's been said that you feel the death of your equivalent no matter where you are. I can't even…" he voice breaks a little, "I can't even imagine losing Tellru."

"All Coeihns die when they lose their equivalent?" Keith shakes his head, eyes wide.

"Not all. Sometimes other ties can keep that Coeihn going even after their equivalent's death. If say, the equivalents had children. Their love for their children could give them the will to keep living, but they would spend the rest of their life in pain. Every day would be a struggle just to breath and stay alive…" Dravla turns his head to look out into the distance. "Humans don't feel this?"

"No," they shake their heads.

"That sounds like both a blessing and a shame," he chuckles.

"I had no idea," Lance says quietly. The idea of caring about someone so much that it physically caused you pain to be apart from them was beautiful and yet so terrifying. Lance always missed his family and a day didn't go by that he didn't think of them or even the team- But to love someone that much that losing them literally kills you…

He exhaled deeply, taking that concept in. "You must… You must really love Tellru,"

Dravla glances at him, eyes full of love, "Yes, I do," he rose to his feet when the Kever began to pull into the station at the lower districts. Leaping off, they started down the road to Dravla's house.

When they got close enough Dravla burst into a sprint. Keith and Lance ran to keep up with him, watching him leap over the fence in front of his house. Booking it for the door, he slammed into it and fell inside. He called for Tellru and she came running. With large smiles, they embraced.

Like two lovers who had been separated for years instead of hours, they clung to each other, burying their faces into their shoulders. From the stairs, Ruru watched them with a little smile on her face.

When Dravla sniffled, Tellru laughed fondly, ("Come now Dravla, you should have only just started to feel the Bond's effect- don't tell me you've been hurting this whole time?")

("Love, I don't think I even breath when we're not together,")

She kisses him, swooning at his words.

"I don't know what they're saying, but I get the feel it's cute," Lance muses. Watching the two kiss and pull away, arms over each other's shoulders, he waves, "Hey, Tellru,"

"Hello, Lance. Keith," she greets, "How are you two?"

"We're fine,"

"I heard about what happened with Rashra. I apologize for him taking your possession, Keith," she frowns, "I'm not sure where he took it, but I'll try my best to recover it for you,"

"You don't have to do that," Keith tells her, "I don't want you to get into trouble for me,"

"It is no problem. If things go bad, I can explain to Manny the situation. He would understand that you are half Galra,"

"Thanks,"

Smiling, Tellru perks up, "Oh, here- you two have to see this," she motions for them to follow her into her study. "I'm working on a special outfit for the both of you; for special occasions like parties," she showed them only the shirts, and Lance was already in love.

"Look at this design," he gawks, "I want to wear this all the time! Forget the parties!"

Keith wasn't as big as a fan, simply because it was more elegant compared to his preferred tastes, but appreciated the effort, "It is beautiful, Tellru,"

"When will these bad boys be done?" Lance asks her.

"Perhaps in a few days? I've become very inspired since meeting you two. I appreciate you wearing the clothes I give you so often," she smiles, thrilled.

"I would say I only wear them because I have nothing else to wear, but that is a lie. I adore these clothes," Lance motions to his jacket. "You have an eye for fashion." She had already given them around four outfits before, and she was already making a fifth? This girl worked fast! "I would seriously reconsider your career and try to make clothes for a living- these are so good,"

Touched at the compliment, she grins, "Thank you, Lance." she gasps, "That reminds me- Ruru! Go grab the thing the doctor brought by,"

"Oh yeah!" Dravla pats Lance's shoulder, "You're going to love this," Ruru returned a moment later with a little box, holding it out to Lance excitedly Curious, Lance takes the box.

"Is this for me?"

"The doctor prescribed them for you- to help with your eyes," Tellru explains.

Opening the box, Lance doubles back, "No way," he gasps.

"What?" Keith inquires, unable to see.

Lance is cackling, turning away to put something on his face. "Tada!" he turns back, a round set of blue glasses placed on his nose. Keith gawks at him, not expecting Coeihns to actually have such a thing.

"Glasses!" he points to them.

Lance is jumping up and down a little in joy, "Everything is so clear again! Keith! I can actually see your nose from here!" he points to him, thrilled. Keith stares- mesmerized by how different the glasses seem to make Lance's features.

His eyes seemed a little bigger, rounder and shiny. It added this line of cute that Keith didn't realize he appreciated till Lance started prancing around, showing off the glasses proudly.

"They look great on you, Lance,' Dravla and Tellru watch from behind, smiling little smiles at his enthusiasm.

"Look at that! Look at that nose, Keith!" he pinches the red paladin's nose. Keith chuckles a little, trying to bat his hand away. "Little little nose,"

"Stop," Keith says, smiling from ear to ear. "Can you see all of us?"

"As clear as day. Thank you Dravla, Tellru," he says to them, sounding a little choked up.

"You're welcome," they nod.

Grinning, Lance throws his arms over Keith's shoulders to hug him, "I feel a song coming on!" he declares, so overjoyed.

"What?" Keith stumbled back a little, not expecting his sudden weight.

"I can see clearly now, the rain is gone. I can see the Keef in front of me~~" Sharing a little laugh, Lance lifts himself upward to plant a loving kiss on Keith's lips. As he did this, his mind flashed to the night before. His body goes rigid as a foreign and very unsettling worry festers in his heart.

Keith wanted this… right?

Despite how much as he cherished the feeling of Keith's mouth on his own, he pulls away, daring a peek at the red paladin's expression. It matched his own; wide, fearful, and unsure- his thoughts most likely in the same place as Lance's.

If that was the case though, why did Keith pull away from him yesterday? Why did he just leave Lance with endless questions and worries?

Distraught, Lance steps back and turns away from Keith. He says in a dejected tone, "Thank you for the glasses, Tellru. Dravla,"

Keith lowered his hands grimacing at his feet.

Taking a second to eye the two young paladins, Tellru frowns and tilts her head, "Are you two alright?"

"Hmm?" they ask.

"You seem a little distant today," she motions between them.

Blinking once, Lance mumbled "Are we?" he grumbles, "Hadn't noticed."

"Well I did- you two were like this on the Kever too," Dravla points out. "Do you- want to talk about it?"

"No," Lance folds his arms.

Keith, on the other hand, glanced at his feet sheepishly, "Actually um- I was wondering if I could talk to Dravla for a second?" Everyone in the room isn't sure what he wants and raises their eyebrows at him, "I need to ask you something… privately," he ignores the odd stare from Lance.

"Oh uh- sure thing?" he shrugs. "We need some groceries anyway, so you and I can head over there." he pauses, "You cool with leaving Lance here alone?"

"I wouldn't be alone, I'm with Tellru," Lance rolls his eyes, "I don't need Keith to be constantly with me."

"No, no of course not," Keith tells him quickly, never wanting to make Lance feel cornered ever again, "I'm fine with going by myself and you staying here. You can even leave if you want- go where ever you want…"

Staring at him, Lance blinks once, then his gaze softens. Touched at how much Keith was trying with this, despite not looking too comfortable with going away from him, he chuckles, "I'll see you when you get back," unable to stay mad at this sweet paladin for too long, he steps towards him and kisses his cheek.

Keith touches the spot gingerly, wide-eyed and mesmerized. Dravla is snorting at them, "Come along," he nudges Keith down the hall and out the door. Pushing Keith till they got down the road, he lets go of his shoulders to walk beside him. "So? What did you want to talk about?"

Keith hesitates, not really expecting to get to this conversation so soon, "It's um… Dravla," Keith swallows thickly, every fiber of his being telling him that this was a mistake.

"Yes, I'm listening?"

The need for answers was too much. Despite wanting to drop the question he says, "Can I ask you something?"

"I already said you could,"

"It is a weird question," he warns

"I've heard some weird things. What do you wanna know?"

"I want to know-" he inhales, collecting his courage, "I wanna know about sex,"

Dravla goes still, his gaze flickering to meet Keith's. He stands there for a while, amongst the crowds of Coeihns, taking in his words, determining if he heard him correctly. When the smaller human blushes a brilliant crimson, Dravla knows he heard the right sentence.

Slowly he repeats, "About sex,"

"Y-Yeah,"

"...You want me to give you _the talk_?" Dravla snapped into realization, horrified, "I didn't think I'd have to do this till Ruru was getting close to adulthood!"

"No! I know what sex is, okay? I know how it is done between a man and a woman. I just don't know… how it is done between t-two guys. Or the details of it..." forcing himself, he adds, "I don't know what it means to… t-to _stretch_ your partner out. What do you do other than kissing? What is weird and what isn't weird to touch?"

Dravla was covering his ears, "Stop. Stop talking."

"You are the only one I can ask about this," Keith insists, "I'm not happy about this either, you know!" in fact, he was mortified. It wasn't too late to just turn away and tell Dravla to forget it.

But the night before kept flashing into his mind. He had wanted to do more with Lance. So much more. Not to mention, he had upset him! Lance had wanted to do more too and he just- he ran away from it like a coward.

He had to fix this and learn- and like hell, he was going to Tellru about this. Dravla was the only male figure he could look to for advice on this so… here is he.

"I need to learn," Keith states

"You need to? Why would you-" he pauses. Leaning towards him a bit, his looked Keith up and down, as if trying to see something invisible. "Wait a minute…"

"What?" Keith huffed.

"Ooh?" he smirked, clapping a little, "Why this sudden curiosity, if I may ask?"

"You may not ask,"

"Ahh I see." he says like Keith's statement explained it all, "Lance has experience unlike you so you want to make sure you efficiently please him~"

Keith chokes, shocked that he caught on, "That isn't what I said at all!"

"But I think it is what you meant~

"Shut up!"

"It's normal, Keith," Dravla insists, "Everyone wants to be able to satisfy their partner." He pauses, "So- does any of this have to do with how Lance and you have been acting today?"

Keith lowers his gaze, "I- kind of… Yeah."

"What happened?"

He doesn't know how to answer for a long time, "I ran away…"

"What does that mean?"  
"Lance wanted to… to go further than just kissing."

"Oh my gosh," Dravla covers his mouth, excited, "And?"

"Like I said- I ran away."

Dravla gasps, like a child who just watched a friend take their pudding cup, "No. No!" He grips his shoulders, "Why would you do that?"

"I don't know!" Keith snaps, pulling away. "I just did. I got- I dunno, I got nervous cause I didn't know anything!"

"You don't run away just because you are nervous! You go slow if you are nervous! Augh! I can't believe this!" Dravla wails in sadness. He freezes, determination boiling in his eyes, "We need to fix this."

"Yeah, we do," Keith agrees, cautious to the Coeihns odd look.

"There there, young one. I, the great Dravla, will guide you through your path into intimacy,"

"No," Keith shakes his head, sounding irritated, "Forget it. This was a mistake asking you,"

"Too late~ You already did so," he motions for Keith to follow," C'mon," When Keith refuses to move, Dravla drags him upward and tucks him under his arm.

"Put me down!"

"Nope~"

"Where are we even going?! You said we were going shopping!"

"Shopping is put on hold! This takes priority! To a learning facility!" Dravla proclaimed, charging into the crowd.

* * *

 **(00-Lance—00)**

"Soooo," Tellru cooes as Ruru makes little pigtails with Lance's hair. "Something happen?"

"Yes," Lance sighs.

"Details,"

Lance groans a little, tossing his head back, "Ruru is here,"

"She probably won't understand. Just don't go into detail,"

Shrugging a little, he agrees, "Okay. It happened last night-" he freezes when Tellru suddenly sniffs him.

Blinking, she huffs and goes back to her seat, disappointed. When she doesn't even comment on the strange action, he stares at her till she looks at him. "What?"

"Why did you just sniff me?" he frowned.

"Oh…I was seeing if you have officially become equivalents, but you don't have his scent on you,"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Lance huffs.

"It means Keith is still pure and you two aren't true equivalents yet," she explains. "When two people become equivalents, the scent of that person becomes a part of your natural smell. Though I can smell a little of Keith on you, that is only common since you two spend so much time together,"

Lance found that curious, "Ohh, so then you smell like Dravla and Dravla smells like you,"

"It is how you know we aren't pure's anymore and are equivalents," she pauses, "It is also how I knew you weren't pure anymore. You smell like someone else."

Lance went still, "...I do?" he whispers weakly. "H-...How much? Do I smell a lot like them?" he heart was kicking into overdrive. He didn't want to think that he still- that after all this time he would still _smell_ like that guy…

Tellru seems to sense his distress and lifts her hand to calm him, "Only a little. It is faint, I assure you. If you were to become the equivalent of anyone else, preferably Keith please, then the other scent would disappear."

Relaxing back into his chair, Lance nods, "Oh… o-okay,"

Tilting her head, Tellru frowns, "The person who claimed you- you did not love them?"

"No," he mumbles, "Not at all." with a voice almost too quiet for her to hear him, he says, "I hate them…"

"Lance," Tellru takes his hand, "I… I'm so sorry."

Lance wasn't sure why he seemed to be able to talk to Dravla and Tellru about this. He never even talked to his own parents about what happened during that night back at Garrison. When Keith had brought it up Lance flat out changed the topic then and there to avoid it.

What was different about Tellru and Dravla?

"It's okay…"

"Is that what is bothering you about last night? Did Keith try and claim you and you- got scared?"

Lance tenses, "Oh- n-no. Actually, it is the opposite. He didn't try to uh- claim me… He went to sleep…" he ends the sentence feeling very annoyed.

Tellru covers her mouth, "But you wanted him too?" she sounded like a giddy schoolgirl.

Starting to regret this topic change with the sparkle in her eye he hesitantly nods, "Yeah,"

She is clapping, pumping her fist into the air and cheering, "This is wonderful news!" she freezes, "Why didn't he claim you?" she started to sound pissed, "Did you run away from it? That little bug! Ooh, the next time I see him-"

Lance grabs her arm, "Tellru, no it's okay." he starts to laugh, enjoying how much she seemed to get into this. "I think… I dunno. Maybe he got scared? Or maybe he doesn't feel the same way…" he lowers his gaze."

" _No,"_ Tellru grips his shoulders, "He probably got scared," and she corrects," Out of any likely reason, that was probably it. Dravla got nervous our first time too. That is okay. Everyone gets nervous. But- he shouldn't have turned away from you." she glances to the front door, recalling how Keith wished to talk to Dravla privately. "How much does Keith know about claiming? Does your race discuss these things or are you left to figure it out for yourself?"

"Well- we talk about the safeties with it. And you can learn a lot about it online I guess? I doubt Keith knew anything about it before we got here,"

"Then he was unsure of what to do," Tellru takes a guess. Smiling, she chuckles to herself, "Well, I'm sure Dravla can help him."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Lance tilts his head.

"Nothing," she waves it off. "I have the rest of the day off. Would you like to help me garden?"

"Sure," he nods, still puzzled.

* * *

 **(00—Lance –00)**

"Kill me now…" Keith pleaded as he was placed on a chair and table. Without wasting a second, Dravla fetched him a paper and quill pen.

"I expect you to take notes," he says. To Keith's horror, Dravla had dragged him to a school. Barging into the building, he approached one of the teachers he knew and inquired to borrow one of the empty rooms for a little while too, as he said, _educate Keith in the means of pleasuring his equivalent._

The Coeihn had blushed a little, nodded, and even offered Dravla one of their teaching gowns. It reminded Keith of a graduation gown and even had a similar style hat to go with it. Dravla wore it with pride, striding around the room gracefully like some prideful college professor.

"Welcome class!" he grinned, despite Keith being the only one in there. "Let's get started. Now-" he took a piece of chalk from the board. Drawing a poor stick figure, he labeled it " _Lance"._ "This is our topic today. In this lesson, we shall go over the major points of pleasure on the body as well as tactics for the job."

"Dravla-" Keith frowns.

"Ah! Raise your hand young man," Dravla chucked the chalk at him. Hitting his forehead, Keith grunted. Grumbling, he raised his hand. Dravla purposively took his time to call on him.

"Oh, yes, Keith? You have a question?"

"Is this really necessary?" he demanded.

"Yes." Dravla nods. "For several reasons. You asked me, first off, so you have to listen to my answer. And secondly, I saw how Lance seemed to be this morning. I don't know the details, other than you were nervous, but I get the distinct feeling that the reason you were this way and why you ended up not following through was because you didn't know what to do. Am I wrong?"

Keith glances away, "...No," he sighs.

"And do you want to have a repeat of that?"

"No," he says, louder.

"Then shut up and take notes."

Sighing, Keith picked up the quill, examined it, and dipped it into the ink. Not use to using this kind of writing tool, he tried his best to write down what Dravla began to say. It took only three minutes before he started blushing into his palm. Dravla kept going though, hitting Keith in the hand with the ruler when he would stop writing.

He should have just winged it.

* * *

 **(000- Lance -000)**

"Ruru, I don't think burying the full fruit is going to help a tree grow," Lance tells her, "You need to take the seed out of the fruit and then bury it,"

Having already buried five different types of fruit within the soil, the young child blinks at him. "Oh…" she starts to dig it up with her palm. Pulling out the fruit, she jabbed her fingers into it and scooped out the seed. Lance opened his mouth when she stuck the seed in her mouth to eat, and put the fruit right back into the ground.

She had already swallowed when he spoke up. "You don't- never mind,"

Following Ruru back to the front of the house with the rest of the seeds, Lance was curious to see a few children standing by the gates. Ruru straightened at the sight of them, frowning. Folding her arms, she says something.

The kids look a little sheepish and point to him.

Ruru wrapped her arms around Lance's arm, hugging it. She stuck her tongue at the kids.

"What did they say?" he asks.  
"They want to meet you," she tells him. "But they are meanies. Always mean to Ruru."

"Oh," Lance frowns, glancing at the children. "Well… perhaps this is your chance to become friends with them instead?" he offers. Ruru tilts her head at him.

"Friends?"

"How about we try?"

Thinking about it, she nods hesitantly. They shuffle over to the gate and step out. The kids seem excited to meet Lance, all of them knowing the story of the Blue champion.

"Can you translate for me?" Lance inquires. Ruru nods, talking to the children in Lance's place.

They chatted, played, and at one point, Ruru even managed a smile. Grateful that she seemed to eventually relax around the others, Lance stepped back to let them talk. Despite them previously teasing her, she seemed able to grow accustomed to their antics rather quickly.

She even showed them her braces and how they worked, explaining how if she wished to, she could use them as secret weapons since most people would not consider them a threat.

The children were in awe, asking they show her how she uses them. She tugged out one of the extra bars to show them, twirling it between her fingers.

Lance laughed when she struck a dramatic pose. Several of the children around him did the same. It was a pleasant sound, like singing bells. It echoed- then was abruptly cut off by the sound of a high-pitched screech.

The kids lifted their hands to their horns, whining at the noise. Lance wasn't sure what it was either but found it was coming from above. Lifting his head, he spotted something falling from the sky. It emerged from the cloud, like a silver cylinder.

Many Coeihns paused to stare at it, unsure of what it was. The faster it fell, the larger the noise got.

Lance felt something turn in his stomach. He wasn't positive, but something felt wrong about it. He had encountered a moment like this before, back at the castle with Coran when they first became paladins.

He had felt this feeling in his gut then too. Like a warning to the disaster about to come.

With a gasp, he turned and screams, "Get down!" he lunges for Ruru and a few of the kids.

A second later, a pause of silence, then an explosion erupted from the cylinder close to the district wall.

He screamed.

* * *

 **(000-Keith-000)**

"And that concludes our lesson," Dravla lowers his ruler, "Any questions?"

Keith finishes scribbling a few last notes on his paper and examines it. Oddly enough, despite how embarrassing it was, he had learned a lot. He felt a lot more comfortable now that he could talk to someone about this.

"No, I'm good."

"So what are we going to do next time Lance offers to let you claim him?" he cooes.

Keith blushes and looks away, "C-Claim him?"

"Correct. And if you still feel nervous about it, what do you do?"

"I tell him instead of turning away. I work it out with him and find something that makes us both comfortable."

"Good!" Dravla claps in praise, ruffling his hair. "My young pupil has come so far," he sniffles.

Keith hits his hand away, unable to stop himself from smiling, "Yeah well… thank you, Dravla."

"You humans, so complicated," Dravla teases.

"We are not," he pauses, "Maybe a little…?"

"A little is an understatement,"

"Shut up-"

Both of them were startled when the ground shook slightly, the lights swinging wildly above them. "What was that?" Keith demanded.

Dravla wasn't sure and turned to the door. Just as he reached it, something started to blare above.

An alarm of some sort. Dravla went pale, turning to Keith with wide eyes. The red paladin wasn't sure what was happening but could see Dravla go tense, shooting around to grab his blade that he left on the desk

"Dravla?!" he demanded.

"The alarm has been sound. We are under attack!"

"Attack?!" Keith yelled.

Rushing out, Keith scrambled after him. They pushed through the panicked teachers and students, struggling to get past them as they rushed to their safety zones. Bursting out through the front door, it didn't take long for them to see the billow of smoke emanating from the kingdom wall. An entire section had been blown to smithereens.

It wasn't exactly at it, but it was definitely close the Tellru and Dravla's house… close to Lance.

Dravla was dumbfounded, the devastation of the explosion so large. "I've never…" he had never seen a weapon quite like it. How had it made its way into the city?

"Dravla. We gotta go!" Keith called to him. Snapping out of his shock, the taller man nodded.

"We must find Tellru and the others." they book it down the road. It was hard to get past citizens since they were all coming from the opposite way from the blast of the explosion.

Explosion.

The word felt sick and twisted.

He had dealt with those before. He's made explosions before when he first rescued Shiro. His life had been filled with them.

He never feared them till the day Sendak attacked. Lance had almost died. Fear held onto him tightly that day, refusing to let go until lance stepped out of a cryo pod a full two days later.

Now Lance was out there, with more of these things going on.

The closer they got, the more they started to hear screams. Soldiers were there- but none wore the armor Keith often saw the guard wearing. They were attacking the citizens!

Dravla didn't hesitate to engage them, slamming his blade into a few and knocking them down. Tearing off the gown he wore, he pierced the chest of another soldier. Keith followed his lead, not knowing who these men were but understanding they couldn't be food.

"Who are these guys?" Keith demanded.

"Traveks! Our enemies of the North," Dravla says with venom seeping from her tone, "(They are lowlife murderous scum who should rot back to hell where they came from!") he slammed his foot into the chest of one, spinning around it before slamming the end of his blade against his stomach. He fell, unmoving. "Come, we must hurry to locate Lance, Tellru, and Ruru," As they ran he called to the citizens "(Quickly! To the upper districts!" he commanded them. The soldiers must have been coming in from the large gap the explosion had made within the wall.

It sounded too convenient to not have been planned.

They had to hurry and get to Lance before too many of the soldiers got within.

* * *

 **(0000-Lance-0000)**

Lance's head was throbbing when he awoke. Jostled awake by small hands, he blinked wearily. The children, they were shaking him and screaming, begging him to get up.

Snapping awake, he sat up with a gasp. That's right, there was a bomb!

"Ruru?!" the second she came into view he hugged her. "Are you alright?"

She nods into his chest, tightening her grip on his shirt.

"Lala,"

"It's okay," he hushed her, "We're- we're all okay. Are any of you hurt?" he asks the children. They blink at him, puzzled. Ruru translates for him.

Most shake their head no, and the others lift they arms to show a few scraps and bruises, but nothing serious. Thank goodness.

Stumbling to his feet, he takes a good look around.

The city was burning.

Of course, the bomb seemed to have only hit one section of the lower districts, but the after effect seemed to be causing just as much damage.

"What just happened?" he murmured, not understanding who could do such a horrible thing. It didn't take long to receive an answer as a few armored bearing men stalked around the corner. The armor was different then what most Coeihns wore, and the very sight of it caused the children to scream.

"Traveks!" the children cowered behind him. Lance recalled that name. Tellru had mentioned it a few times before. They were enemies- the people Coeihns were at war with. They must have had something to do with that bomb.

They turned towards them, lifting their weapons.

More grateful than ever for the glasses, he pulled out his Bayard.

Missing how clear the world was around him, he closed one of his eyes and aimed.  
An inhale, then an exhale. Three shots, three fallen soldiers.

They hit the ground before they even knew what him them. The children were in awe of him, admiring him quietly.

"We have to move," he says. "Ruru, your parents must have told you what to do during something like this, right?" he kneels down to her. A culture in war always made plans for situations like this. "Where are you supposed to go?"

She looks behind her. "Up," she motions towards the hills. The upper districts, closer to the Kingdom.

"Then let's head there and try to meet up with the others somewhere around it," Lance tells her. "Come on," he motions for the children to follow. They didn't hesitate, stumbling after him and sticking close to his side.

It took time with all of them, but they slowly began to make their way through the rubble and chaos.

Taking their time to assure none of the kids got hurt, Lance felt Ruru tug on his sleeve.

"Keef," she says softly.

Lance froze, "You see Keith?"

"N-No, but… Keef's," she is pointing to something. Not sure what she meant, he could see her motioning to the rubble in the distance. There were so many things to look at within the destruction that he wasn't sure what she was talking about.

"What?" he asks, "What do you see?"

"Keef's blink,"

"Blink?"

"Blink," she says

"What is a blink?"

She sounds frustrated and afraid, and it was evident in her voice, "Blink!" she stresses.

"I don't know what you are trying to say, sweetpea," Lance sighs, "I'm sorry I don't- what is a blink?" he tries again, hoping to sound calm

"Blink!"

"Blinking is this," he blinks to show her. She slaps her forehead.

"Bl… Bli.. Bla… sharp! Sharp point!' she aims for a different explanation. "Swing! Swoosh!"

"What?"

'Stab!"

"Stab?" he processes the words slowly

"Stab stab!" she thrusts her hand forward. Lance doesn't understand when Ruru suddenly turned to another child and jabs him in the gut. He falls over with a gag, clutching his stomach.

"Ruru!" he scolds, "This is not the time for that!"

"Stab stab!" she yells back at him. "Stab slice! Slice Keef! Keef's slice there!" she points ahead again, ready to just run ahead.

Then it hits him, "Blade?" he demands. Her gasp and smile confirms it, "Keith's blade?"

"Blade!" she cheers.

"Where?! Where is it?!" Lance looked ahead. Now that he knew what to look for, it didn't take long to spot it. It was tossed to the floor, surrounded by rubble and other belongings.

"Lucky!" Lance cheered, taking a small detour to collect it. He wasn't even sure how it was over here, but picking up, he knew it was definitely Keith's. Perhaps this area had been some sort of storage to hold evidence or something- or maybe it was Rashra's house?

Either way, it didn't matter, he got the blade back, and he knew exactly where to put it.

Keith had left the holster with him- mainly because Lance really liked wearing his belt.

Don't judge him.

With a grin, he lifted it back to where it belonged. "Keith is going to freak when I show it to him," he grinned. "Okay Ruru, let's-" A screeching cut them off. This one was faster, following by a second closer. The children screamed and ducked down, watching in horror as another section of the wall was torn apart.

This time, through the smoke, Lance could see the perpetrator of the bombs above. Peeking through the clouds, it was some sort of strange looking ship.

"Kid's we have to-!" Hearing the cracking sound of rubble, Lance gasped. He could feel the shift of earth before it fell. Caused by the explosions behind them, the ground was giving out on itself and he acted out of instinct.

"Ruru!" Since she was closest, he shoved her, tossing her just enough of a distance away to the other children before the ground gave out below them. She and the children called out for him when he fell.

* * *

 **(-000 KEITH 000-)**

Dravla and Keith had to duck for cover when the second explosion went off. This time, the ship that was dropping the bombs had revealed itself.

"I've never seen a ship like that before," Dravla says, "Is that really a Travek ship?"  
Keith wasn't sure, but something about it seemed similar in design. Not sure what it reminded him off, he couldn't focus on it long.

He had to find Lance. Things were just getting worse out here.

"Is there any faster way to your house?" he demands.

"Even if we get there I can't guarantee Tellru and the others are going to be there," Dravla huffs as they run down the road. "In these situations, all Coeihns know to evacuate to somewhere safe. For all we know, Lance and the others could be heading there-" he leaped over a fallen pole, "But just in case, I need to check the house to make sure they didn't get caught inside."

Keith understood that and followed after him. Rounded the corner, they paused at the sight of several fallen Travek soldiers. Assuming reinforcements from the guards had arrived, Keith's jaw dropped when a familiar looking Coeihn slammed into a Travek in a brutal takedown.

Hitting the ground hard, none other then Tellru slammed her elbow into the Travek's face, knocking him out cold.

"Tellru!" Dravla was in tears from both relief and adoration. "My beautiful warrior!" he skipped to her.

Lifting her head, she brushed the sweat off her chin and smiled, "Dravla!" she barreled into him when he got close enough, "Are you hurt?! Is Ruru with you?!"  
"I thought she was with you!" he falls back into his panic.

"She was but- we were gardening and she went with Lance to play out in the streets. There was too much chaos- I don't know where they went," she tells him.

Keith clicks his teeth, jumping up some debris to look out. His heart was hammering, his own hands trembling.

He had to find Lance.

"Let's keep looking. Ruru knows to go to the upper districts in these situations but Lance doesn't, he might still be around here looking for us,' Dravla suggested. Glad to get his feet moving, Keith didn't hesitate to run ahead.

They had searched for what felt like an eternity- pausing only once to lift their heads at the sound of a beam being fired.

For the first time since arriving, Keith was able to witness the large defense system the Coeihns installed behind the Kingdom's castle. The Gun- one large enough to Voltron to hold, had turned, aiming for the ship above that had continuously dropped bombs onto of the city.

Hitting the target spot on, the haul of the ship erupted into flames and shot downward. Barely managed to pass the city walls, they could see the imploding flames towards the forests outside the kingdom.

Dravla and Tellru were cheering, but the celebration didn't last long. Travek soldiers were still managing to pour in through the cracks and crevices- but now that the ship was gone, the soldiers seemed able to focus on it, and put their strength into barricading the outside forces.

They still hadn't found Lance though!

Keith didn't care about the Traveks, or the wall- he just wanted to find Lance!

"Hey!" Tellru's call pulled him from his worried. "There!" she pointed ahead. A chunk of unstable land had fallen from the explosion, making a large crater between the remaining parts of the city. The destruction was sickening, but she had managed to spot something from across the way.

Children were gathered towards the other end of the crater, looking over the edge and calling down into it.

It wasn't hard to spot Ruru within the group.

"Ruru!" Dravla gasps. "What is she doing over there?! RURU!" he called over. She snapped her gaze up, squinting around to see him. When she did, she started jumping up and down. "Ruru get away from there!" they called to her, "It's dangerous!"

She shakes her head, calling back, "Lala!" Her face was desperate with worry and she started pointing downward. Not sure what she meant, they looked a little into the crater.

Keith sucked in a breath when he saw him.

Lance. He had fallen in.

" _Lance!"_ his voice cracked at the pitch in which he yelled his name. The blue paladin didn't stir.

He had been lucky enough to be caught by a chunk of a fallen roof before plummeting to the caverns below and was laying across it, unconscious. Of course, the impact with the roof couldn't have been comfortable, but at least he hadn't fallen to where they couldn't get him.

"We have to get over there!" Keith bellowed. Dravla nodded in agreement, looking for the shortest way.

"Look!" he pointed to a beam. It was small, but it seemed to connect the two sections, cutting straight across.

"That looks unstable," Tellru shook her head.

"It's the fastest way," Dravla sighs, "But yes, all our weight would make it collapse. One at a time," he suggested.  
"I'll go first," Keith steps forward.

"Keith," Tellru disagrees, "It could fall,"

"I'm the lightest," he snaps at her quickly, desperate to get a move on, "If anyone has the best chance of getting over there fast, it's me,"

The two Coeihns shared a worried glance and hesitantly nod, "Okay, be careful," stepping aside, they watch him climb up.

Lifting his arms up to balance himself, he slowly began the crossing. Tellru watched with baited breath, gasping each time Keith would wobble, almost toppling over. Each time he would catch himself, his gaze set with determination.

Then, halfway across, he could feel a spring cutting loose and the entire beam shook violently.

 _"RUN!_ "

He didn't need to hear Tellru's call to get his feet to start moving. Booking it across the last chunk, he had to dive at the last moment before it fell, crumbling down to the pit below.

Reaching out his arm, he managed to snag the edge of the cliff side, pulling himself up. Turning, he could see Tellru and Dravla. Despite looking pale, they were relieved he had made it and were cheering for him.

"We'll find another way around!" Dravla called to him, "You go get Lance! If you can't make your way down to him, wait for us to get there!"

"Okay!"

"Be careful!" Tellru was already turning, running down the path to make the long way around.

Getting to his feet, Keith scrambled down the crumbling path to the group of children. "Ruru!" she jumped into his arms, tugging on them insistently and pointing downward, "I know. I know." he says quickly, putting her down, "I'll get him," he looks over the edge.

Keith felt his heart stop at the sight of Lance's form no longer along the roof.

Did he fall? Did he slide off? Did he-

A grunt came from below. Falling to his knees, he peered down. To his relief, Lance was there and conscious. He had been attempting to climb his way up.

"Lance!"

His body trembled at the call of his name, and he gasped, "K-Keith?" he lifted his gaze up to meet his. A smile broke across his face, "Keith!" he says, his voice softening to tender relief. He starts to laugh, "Man, what a day, huh? I think I have a curse on me or something. I always seem to be in some sort of mess,"

"Are you okay?" Keith started to climb over the side a little, towards the small platform a little below.

"I'm fine… just sore," Lance was clinging to the side, rock climbing with his bare hands. He had gotten a decent distance up, but maybe Keith could pull him up the rest of the way? "I'm glad…" he gasps a little for air, "I'm glad to see you,"

"Yeah," Keith nods, his voice gentle, "Me too." he frowns when he can't see anything else for him to lower himself on. He was stuck on the platform. Inching as far down as he could, he says, "You gotta grab my hand. I can't go any lower than this,"

"Oh uh…" Lance was half way up some sort of metal fence, struggling to keep himself from slipping. Keith wasn't too far away though at this point, so he could make it… right?

Not too comfortable only holding on with one hand, he slowly unhooks his fingers and lifted them. The second he tried the uneven fence wall he was clinging to moved. It was starting to collapse.

Lance screamed and brought his hands back to it, holding on tight, "I can't!"

"Yes, you can. You can, lance," Keith says in a panic, "You gotta try!" they didn't have much time before that wall was going to give

Lance slowly, with wobbly fingers, lifted his palm. With his poor luck, when he looked up, the sun got in his eyes. With his already poor sight, the light of the sun made it virtually impossible to see the red paladin above him. He couldn't find Keith's hand, "I don't- where are you?" he hated that he was in this mess. Hating that this was happening. Hating that he was so useless and helpless and just- "Keith!" he wailed when the platform shook again. He was petrified.

"I'm here!" Keith's voice wavered with a similar fear Lance felt boiling in his stomach, "I'm right here Lance, but you gotta grab me!"

The ground was shifting, ready to give and fall. He had to move now or he wouldn't be making it out of this.

Taking the chance, he pushed himself upward and threw out his arm. With the small leap, a hand wrapped around his wrist.

Not expecting all of Lance's weight, Keith grunted and almost tumbled over the edge. "H-Hold on!" he grimaced, pulling with all his might to lift Lance up towards him. When he was close enough, Lance was able to use his feet to throw himself over the last chunk of it, straight into Keith's arms.

Though the children could only see a little from where they were, they were cheering above, embracing and leaping about.

Their voice drowned out to Lance's ears from the pounding of his heart.

"J-Jeez…" With wet and heaving gasps, Lance sobbed into Keith's chest. "You did it," he gasps, still reeling from the fear. "You-"

Keith's mouth is on his in an instant.

Arms hooked around his waist, Lance's around his shoulder, they kiss till Lance swore he was going to pass out. It's the fear, Lance assumed. And the adrenaline. That whole notion of, _I was this close to death and I'm really glad to be alive so just kiss me,_ emotional response.

The urgency in Keith kiss tells Lance that he feels the same.

"This is the final straw…" Keith pulls away to say, swooping down to claim Lance's bottom lip between his teeth. Lance gasps a little, his body trembling from a heavy sweat. His arms felt too much like jelly right now from clinging to that cliff to grip Keith's shoulders too tightly.

"W-What is?" Lance inquires weakly, his body flushed from either overexertion or arousal- he should really just flip a coin to decide.

"I just can't leave you alone, _ever._ You always seem to get caught up in danger when you do,"

"I don't decide that," he mumbled, "If I could stop it I would-" Keith gripped Lance under his knees, suddenly lifting him Keith forced Lance to wraps his legs around his hips.

Lance yelped a little at the action, flustered at the position, "P-Put me down," he shivered

"No. Let me hold you like this for a while…"

"Keith-"

"Just a little while longer," he whispers can't say no when he uses that kind of tone, "...Okay," they kiss again. It was almost kind of ridiculous- like a crude joke. They were just making out around all this devastation and ruin, completely unaware of everything going on around them.

Lance can't say no when he uses that kind of tone, "...Okay," they kiss again. It was almost kind of ridiculous- like a crude joke. They were just making out around all this devastation and ruin, completely unaware of everything going on around them.

They were only drawn out from it when something like a shoe was tossed down at them. "Are you two serious?!" Dravla bellowed, "Right now?! You are doing this, _right now?!"_ Apparently, they had made their way around the crater. "I can't believe you two!"

"I'm not with him!" Tellru calls over his shoulder, "I am perfectly okay with you two continuing this! Just ignore us and go back to what you were doing!"

"Everything is on fire!' Dravla threw his arms up, "Have any of you ever heard of priorities?! I know I just told you to take the chance when it arrived next- but there is a time and a place for this, Keith!"

Pursing his lips, embarrassed, Lance clears his throat, "We should uh- we should get out of here,"

"Right," Keith agrees, placing Lance back on the ground. Together, they scaled the remaining chunk of the crater, making their way back to the group.

"Lance," Tellru embraced him, "I'm glad you are okay. You scared me to death,"

"Sorry," he says. "I'm glad you're okay too,"

"We should make our way to the upper district. Our soldiers are already driving out the Travek forces, but it is best to get these children to safety first,"

In agreement, they made their way through the debris to the hills. The Upper districts were packed, everyone squished together.

When they arrived, Dravla turned, "The King- I have to-"

"Go,' Tellru kisses him, "But come back to us."

Smiling at her, he knelt down to kiss Ruru's head. "I'll be back soon," he assures them, running off. Lance watches his run off, sighing a little bit to himself.

He wished he could have done more to help the Coeihns, or even just manage to get the children here safely, but in the end, Keith had to come save him. _Again._

Either way, they huddled into the upper district, waiting for news from the King, or even just his messenger.

Two to three hours later, Lance feeling exhausted, a messenger had arrived to announce the battle had been won and the Travek's had been chased from their homes.

Coeihns cheered, saying some odd chant.

The battle was over and won, leaving the Kingdom with the task to rebuild. Lance and Keith helped the best they could, but Dravla and Tellru told them to go home and rest.

For four days they remained locked away in their apartment. Most of everything was just clean up now, but Dravla warned that with the chaos, someone might try something, like another assassination attempt on Lance's life, so he thought it was best that they stay where it is safe.

Keith was in full agreement, making sure to stick close to Lance at all times. Though, that wasn't too hard within the apartment.

Plus…

Keith was carrying Lance around, refusing to let him down for even a second.

Lance wanted to yell at him- tell him he was being clingy or over protective. But he couldn't… he was clinging to Keith just as tightly, legs wrapped firmly around his waist.

He liked this. He never tell Pidge or hunk about this by any means, but knowing he could simply enjoy being held by Keith was comforting

He like an infant though- but… Keith never got really got tired, and when he did he would just sit down with Lance resting on his lap for a few seconds. Then he would just stand right back up to walk around the room and talk to him.

He could just- just carry Lance around without breaking a sweat.

Lance felt weirder out by himself for finding this extremely hot!

But also… also heartbreaking?

Did that make sense…?

Lance wanted to cry at how gentle Keith's touches were. How warm his embrace felt to his skin- how gentle voice was against his ear.

"K..Keith…" he whispered brokenly, "Put me down…"

Keith glances at him in surprise. Lance had been so quiet for a while that Keith had assumed he had fallen asleep.

"Lance?"

"I'm going to bed- put me down…"

Keith doesn't, and instead nuzzles against him, "You sound upset,' he notes quietly,

"I… I'm not,"

"Lance." Keith tries to get Lance to look at him, "Talk to me,"

"I have nothing to say,"

"That is a first."

Lance frowns, pissed of, "Can you just leave me alone?"

Not expecting him to get angry or defensive, Keith frowns, "What is with you? Why are you acting like this?" he demanded

"I'm not acting like anything!"

"Yes, you are!" Keith freezes, "Wait… am I doing it again?" his eyes grow too wide for Lance to handle, "Am I getting too possessive?"

"What?" Lance doubles back, "No… No that isn't it. I… I like this," he mumbles through a blush, "I like you carrying me around like this- okay? I'm just tired- Let go of me," he tried to shake Keith's grip on him. The red paladin refused.

"Are you sure that's it?" Keith whispers, "You said we would talk about these things, Lance…You said you trust me,"

Lance's voice wavers, "I-I do,"

"I'm here to listen, Lance,"

Unwelcome tears pooled in Lance's eyes, his emotions getting the better of him. Months of fear and worry were pushing to the surface, threatening to break him, "What if-" he choked, "God…"

"Tell me," Keith took his hand and kissed his knuckles, "Tell me."

"Keith-" his fingers trailed upward, curling into Keith's mullet, "What if I can't ever see again?" he felt close to some sort of breaking point. His voice hurt… his eyes hurt… everything hurt. "What if I can't ever pilot again? I can't pilot if I everything is blurry-" he would be useless to everyone then. He already is really useless! They would need to find a new paladin for Voltron and leave him behind. Keith would leave him behind.

"You will see again,"

"But what if I don't?! What if we can't fix this? What- I can't-" he sobbed when Keith lifted his arms up from his knees to his back, cradling him. He was murmuring gentle hushes into his ear, rocking them both slightly.

"It will be okay. It will be okay." He chanted. Lance clung to every word. "Pidge has glasses- and she pilots."

"She takes them off when she pilots," Lance disagrees brokenly. "A-And what about the team? What if we don't ever see them again? Or earth? M-My family… they probably think I'm dead!"

Startled, Keith opens and closes his mouth, caught off guard. Not sure what to say for a while, he eventually asks, "You never mentioned this before… how long have you been thinking about all of this?"

Lance lifted his hand to brush at his eyes, "I dunno…" his croaked, "Since the day we left, I guess?"  
"Why didn't you say anything?"  
"I didn't want to complain- we all missed home,"

"Lance," Keith moved them to the bed. He sits them both into the middle of the mattress, allowing Lance to hold him cling to him as he caressed his back, "You have to tell me how you feel or I'll never know," he tells him, "Just because everyone else might be feeling what you feel doesn't mean your feelings are any less important. You can't just bottle them up inside… You can tell me these things, Lance,"

Lance hides his face into the crook of his neck, sniffing from time to time "I know I just… I never really wanted you to see me… like this."

"I'm glad you showed me this." Keith kisses his brow, "I'm glad you are trusting me to see this…" he presses his forehead to Lance's, "I'm… I want-" Lance lifts his head when Keith cuts off, meeting a steady gaze.

Caught in his eyes, Lance blinks once, then twice, "…What?" he inquires. "What were you going to say?"

"It's hard to just- to just put into words," Keith admits softly, "Lance, I want everything you have to offer… And I don't even know what that might fully entail or how much you want from me but I- I want this. You-" Keith is tugged forward, lips pressed firmly to his.

Not sure how to thank him otherwise, or say how much he wanted to hear those words, Lance put everything he had into this single gesture. If Keith hadn't been sucked into the portal with him… if he had been alone- Lance would have lost it on day one.

And to know that Keith was just as nervous about this as he was- it gave him a little courage to follow this, not matter where it lead to.

When they pause to breath, he gasps, "I want- yeah, I want you too… a lot…" the grinding of their teeth sliding together is unpleasant, but has them both quivering.

Keith was responding to the kiss without missing a beat, cradling Lance's head in his hands.

Feeling heavy the two fell to their sides, sprawling themselves out across the bed. Clinging to each other, Lance couldn't bare to pull away from Keith for longer than 2 seconds to breath. He was getting dizzy.

Tongue against tongue, Keith shifted a little, pressing closer. "Lance…" he pulled the blue paladin on top of him.

The two chuckled when their noses bumped against Lance's glasses. "I should take these off,"

Keith nods in agreement, lifting his hands to remove the spectacles for him. Pausing to admire Lance's wider eyes with them on, he slowly plucked them off and placed them to the side.

Assuring they wouldn't get broken, he lifted his arms back up and wrapped them around Lance's neck, tugging him down for a searing kiss.

Making out for a few minutes, Lance pulled away with a little gasp. A little fearful of the night before, he announces, "I want to… keep going, if that is okay with you."

Keith didn't hesitate to nod this time. After his talk with Dravla, he didn't feel as nervous anymore. He felt confident in what he or Lance would do next.

Thrilled with his consent, Lance nervously inquires, "C-Can I try something?"

"Try something? Like what?" Keith blinked hazily.

"If you don't like it I'll stop,"

Not sure what he meant, but knowing he trusted Lance with whatever he was planning on doing, Keith nodded, "Yeah,"

Nodding a few times, Lance's hands traveled to Keith's shoulders. Squeezing them, he slowly lowered his palms, pressing them into Keith's shirt to feel the skin below.

Keith took a shaky breath as Lance's wandering hand brushed over his chest. "Lance…"

He hummed in response when he found one of Keith's nipples. The startled gasp from Keith when he rubbed it was adorable.

"W-Where do you think… you're touching…?" Keith says through his gasps as if he was trying to fight the pleasing sensation it brought. Because surely, it shouldn't have felt as good as this….

"You don't know the names of these?" Lance inquires,

"C-course I do," Keith's grunt of annoyance keened a little when Lance kissed along his collarbone. "It's my chest…"

"You gotta be more specific," Lance slides his fingers into the loose sides of the tank top, trailing his bare fingers over the sensitive buds curiously, appreciating the mewl that slipped from Keith's lips.

"You know where I mean," Keith can't pull off the glare. " _Those_ ,"

"They are called nipples, Keith," Lance wiggles his finger at him. Taking a moment to simply focus on the action, he sheepishly glanced upward to eye the red paladin from above, "How does it feel?" He rolled them under his thumbs. Keith bit his lower lip and averted his gaze.

"I don't know… weird," he pants, unsure himself why he felt so out of breath, "Like a purple nurple but… different."

"Good different?"

"I don't know,"

"Have you ever-?" Lance cut himself off, licking his chapped lips, "Never mind."

"What?" Keith squirmed a little, his voice quiet "What were you going to say?"

Lance didn't want to ruin the moment, but every ounce of his soul wanted to know, "Have you ever touched yourself like this?" with both hands he brushed his thumbs across the little buds.

In response, the red paladin curved his spine off the mattress at the unexpected action, chest heaving. "O-Of course not- hah...!" the very idea sounded strange to him.

When would he have time to try any of this? Back in Garrison his soul focus was only improving his piloting skills. After he left it was just about finding the blue lion. Then fighting Zarkon. When would he have had time to try something like… like this?

It felt strange- foreign… but Lance's hands were so warm it sent pleasant chills up his spine.

"Oh…" Lance couldn't form any other words other than that. To know that this- that he was- to be the first to do this to Keith- to draw these sinful noises from his lips. "God…" Lance kissed him fiercely. Why hadn't he done all of this sooner? How far exactly was Keith willing to let him go anyway? Because honestly, if this continued, he could not promise that Keith would be _pure_ by tomorrow.

Feeling Lance's delicate fingers sliding down to grip his hips Keith felt a wave of unknown pleasure seeping through him when the blue paladin kissed his chest- mouthing it through his shirt.

Sly fingers slip below his shirt, trailing upward. The swirls in his stomach tightened and Keith opened his mouth groan, feeling like he was tipping over some edge. "Lance-"

There was a knock on the door. Neither had ever felt caught so red handed in their entire life. It made their blood run cold.

Flustered and entangled together, the two panicked and ended up rolling off the bed. "Hold on!" Lance called, scrambling over Keith's body to head towards the door. He fell flat on his face when he tripped over Keith's shoe.

Quiznack! Quiznack! He was hard dammit!

How the hell was he going to answer the door like this?!

* * *

 **REVIEW REPLIES~ (I TOTALLY FORGOT TO DO THIS IN THE LAST CHAPTER! I"M SO SORRY! ;-;)**

 **Pinkdoughnuts:** Oh my gosh, thank you so much. That means so much to me. Honestly, I see a lot of Keith and Lance's relationship in fanfics is just them having sex- and while I know that is a huge part of a sexual relationship, I didn't want that to be the full focus in this story. I want them to actually fall in love- and for you to say you definitely see that just makes me so happy. Thank you!

 **WindrissQuinn:** Oh my gosh / You are too amazing and sweet, thank you! I was actually really nervous how people would react to the world, but I'm so glad you enjoy it! I think it is important to make a strong background, but not lose focus on the main characters- SO THANK YOU SO MUCH!

 **Guest:** PIECES OF BUBBLEGUM ICE CREAM INDEED! XD

 **Darkness of the Dragon:** You were hoping they 'accidentally" stabbed him in the neck? XD I don't think anyone can accidentally do that XD haha It's actually funny though, total spoiler here... but Rashra will get stabbed in the neck eventually. (And this was thought up before you even sent this review so I thought it was quite funny to read this! XD) "he's like a rash that won't go away" That may or may not be the reason I named him RASHra XD XD XDXD That is a good question though! This story will basically end when Team Voltron finds Keith and Lance. So in a general 10 more chapters or so. Maybe 11 or something. XD But yeah, once this chapter is done, there will be a sequel to explain what happened to the team during this and how they react to Lance and Keith's new relationship :3

 **Phoenix51:** Oh my gosh, thank you Ahhhh you are all so sweet!

 **ammstar11:** I'm not sure if the Coeihn of the last chapter will come back for a rematch, honestly. Especially after this chapter. But a certain Rashra might come back to challenge Lance, or something. Who knows *innocent whistling* Clearly I'm just crazy

 **Hidansbab530:** No it's okay to dislike Rashra! And who knows, he might die at some point XD But thank you so much! If you actually go back to the previous chapters, the one who said "Ass" in front of the kids was actually Lance XD It was during the chapter where they go to see her play and he said it in front of Harri, and then later Harri told ruru what Lance said XD

 **Serina the Seer/ Eleanor (Cause you two had the same question):** Oooh 0.0 That is a good question. I'm not sure what would happen if Keith got taken 0.0 Honestly, it probably wouldn't be to kill him. They would take Lance to kill him because they don't like how he is a citizen/ Keith could be taken as an equivalent for someone else. For Keith, he would be taken because someone want's him as their equivalent. So... that is a horrible though, but they might take him to try and force him into equivalency. :( Lance would got nuts. Holy hell just thinking about it makes me shiver. Great question though!

 **Guest:** Oh thank you! :D I'm so glad I got to answer you question. I think it definitely helped add some depth to the story :)

 **Greentcat42:** Thank you!

 **BlueAnimeBat17:** Ahhh, thank you so much! I'm so glad you liked this chapter! :D I definitely adore lover's spats then happy resolves~

 **Ashlielle:** THEY GONNA DO IT IN 2 CHAPTERS! XD XD (Kind of...) It was your birthday! Oh my gosh, Happy birthday! I'm so glad I was able to help you smile! Thank you for the cookie!

 **Ewink18:** Ahh / Oh my gosh, thank you for the mental kisses. Those are sweet. I'm so glad you enjoy this story so much

 **MickeyTRN:** AHHH! XD Oh my gosh this made me laugh so much! You goof! DOn't lose sleep over this! XD


	21. Rough nights

In his rush, Lance ended up smacking into the door when he tried to answer it. Groaning, he threw it open and gasped

"Hey," Dravla, of course, it had to be Dravla, stood on the other side. His smile fell when Lance growled angrily at him. "D...Did I stop by at a bad time?"

Despite being pissed they were interrupted Lance quickly catches him, "No! Um-HEY! Hey there- Hey Dravla- my favorite Coeihn," Lance declared breathlessly, covering himself and his little… _issue_ between his legs the best he could "How are you?! Are you good?" he leaned against the door with a nervous grin.

"I'm your favorite Coeihn?" he asks in surprise, "I am honored."

"Yeah….hahahah," the laugh went a little too long and it died off into an awkward silence

"Um… Well then, I am well. How are you? I hope you were not too injured from the attack,"

"Nope! I'm good. Yup Yup! Perfect. Peachy."

"Alright then? Well, I have come here with an invitation for Keith and you. I thought this might be the perfect way to-" Dravla paused, "Why are you so sweaty?" he questions him

"...Doing jumping jacks."

"I do not know what that is-" Inhaling through his nose, Dravla froze. He backs up suddenly as if the two terrified him. "No…" Thinking they had somehow broken the Coeihn from how unmoving he was, Keith waved his hand in front of his face.

"Uh- hello?"

"Dravla? You there, buddy?" Lance inquired.

Dravla screamed, "I'm so sorry!"

Startling both of the paladins they ask, "What?"

"Please do not tell Tellru! I didn't mean to! If I knew you were acquiring each other I would not have interrupted, I swear! She will kill me if she learns that I stopped you!"

"Acquiring- AHHHHH!" Lance covered his ears, going red when he understood what Dravla meant. "No! We were 't- that was just- No!" he panicked, "We were j-just-"  
Keith was puzzled, naive as ever, "What?"

"We were just kissing! We weren't having sex!"

"WHAT?!" Keith ran Dravla's words back over his head, "NO! We weren't doing that! We- I mean- we might have been going to-"

Lance turns to him in in shock, "Keith, shut up!"

"But we were!"

"Or maybe we wouldn't have gone all the way!" Lance countered, red in the face

"Did you not want to go all the way?!"

"Of course I did! But it is important not to move too fast- AH! WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THIS WHILE DRAVLA IS STILL HERE?!"

"I can go~!?" He offered awkwardly, backing up towards the door

"No, it's fine! It's too late and the mood is ruined," Lance points to him, taking a second to just breath and compose himself, "Just, what did you want anyway, Dravla?" He sighs.

He clears his throat, "Ah yes, I was actually here to invite you to a well loved Coeihn tradition!"

"Tradition?"

"With every victory- we celebrate with a delightful party~" he wiggled his fingers. "That attack hit the people hard- I think everyone needs something to help brighten their spirits,"

"So a party?" Lance inquires

"Yes sir," Dravla grinned, "You boys interested?"

"Hell yeah I am," Lance grins. This was just what he needed, honestly. Something fun to get him out of the apartment. Plus, it would be interesting to see how Coeihns party. "When is it?"

"Tonight. Actually, if you said yes, I was going to take you to get ready for it. Tellru wants you to try her special outfit or something. She added a little surprise to them I guess."

"Okay cool! Let me go get dressed-" Lance pauses. Then, not even sure how he forgot about something so important, he recalls a few days before. "Oh wait!" He gasps, turning and booking it towards their hamper. Since it had been a few days since they went out, they hadn't had a need to wear their outside clothes and have just been strutting around in their pajamas.

He had almost forgotten about it. Keith and the fear of never getting off this planet had been the biggest thing on his mind lately, so he spaced on a crucial detail.

"Keith, you won't believe what I found the other day," pulling the blade from its holster, he held it high, "Tada~!"

Keith almost doubles over, "H-How did you get that?!" He stammered, running over. Taking it in his hands, he exhaled shakily, smiling in relief

"During the bomb attack. It was just kind of out in the open- or maybe the spot was Rashra's house?" he wasn't going to add what happened _after_ he grabbed the knife though. That wouldn't have ended well if he informed Keith, the already protective hot head, that he fell because he tried to get the knife. Definitely a bad idea to do that.

"I did hear that Rashra's house had been destroyed," Dravla noted, "Well hey, congratulations. I would keep that hidden though in case Rashra tries to take it again,"

"Will do. We can keep it here," Lance agrees, throwing on some clothes. "So we're heading to your house to get dressed?"

"Actually, Tellru had this weird… plan? She wanted your outfits to be a surprise to each other, so Tellru told me to come pick you up and she would meet Keith here with his outfit."

"Huh? What is that about?" Lance tilts his head

Dravla shrugs, "I dunno."

"So Tellru will come get Keith?" Lance asks

"Yup. Let's go," Dravla motions for him to follow.

 **"** Wait-" Keith grabbed Lance's wrist. Surprised, Lance glanced back at him.

"What?"

Keith hesitated, slowly pulling his hand away, "I'm doing it again…" he realizes. "You'll be fine…." he says more to himself than anyone else. He stands in a way that is tense, jaw set and shoulders stiff.

His gaze was dark in a way that Lance still couldn't fully get used to seeing. It was a thrill, something that glowed in him- that he could make that expression appear.

That this possessive side was for Lance, and no one else, and more than anything, it made him... well, it made him want Keith.

Was that strange?

He had wanted people before; small crushes, on and off crushes, little things he liked more about people that others.

None of it compared to the way he wanted Keith. He couldn't help but let it swell in his chest how much he wanted him, or how stupid he was for him.

With this sense of power, he took Keith's hand, "See you in a little bit," he kissed the knuckles of Keith's palm. His gaze in turn went wide as Lance stepped forward to wrap an arm around his shoulder. Tugging the red paladin closer, he leaned forward to whisper, "I hope that later we can continue where we left off…"

"Oh… o-of course," Keith gasped.

With a kiss to his cheek, Lance chuckles and steps back, "Bye bye~" without another word he followed Dravla out of the apartment and down the hall. Through the trip back to Dravla's house Lance and him shared some small talk. It was a little awkward honestly with how destroyed the town seemed to be, but Dravla barely bats an eye at this.

Lance assumed it was from being in this war with the Travek's for so long, that Dravla most likely grew up to this, and it was like any normal Tuesday to him. The thought was almost sad...

When they got there, Ruru greeted them excitedly, already carrying Lance's shirt around. "Lala!"

 **"** I get to wear Tellru's fancy clothes," Lance gushes, taking it from her. He pauses to examine it, "Oohhhh. She really put some effort into these! I-" Lance cut off. The symbol that decorated the front of the vest had been recently added, but there was no mistaking what is what. "T...This?" He points to him shakily.

"She was inspired by that armor you wore when you first got here. Since Keith and you both wore it she assumed it was important to you," Dravla smiles. Lance runs his fingers over the design and nods.

"It is…" it was their symbol. Voltron and the team's. Looking at it made his heart ache but to see Tellru put so much into something she knew was important to him made him so happy. "I love it."

"I'm glad, and she'll be happy to hear that. Now hurry up and get dressed," Dravla says, tossing him the rest of the attire

* * *

 **0000-000**

When they arrived at the party, Lance was tapping at his face. "Is the face paint necessary?"

"I thought it was a nice touch," Dravla huffs. "Us Coeihns show our markings off with pride, you know."

"And those are cool, but I'm not really a Coeihn," Lance glances at himself in the mirror, noting just how similar his markings were to Dravla's. "Why red, anyway?" he frowns at the color choice for the face paint.

"I thought it was poetic."

"What in the world does that mean?'

"You'll see,"

Sighing, he says, "Fine, whatever. Nice party." Lance's back felt cold as he walked and he reached back to touch it. Finding he came straight into contact with his own skin, he frowned, "Is this an open back outfit?"

'Yes."

He smirks, "Bet I look sexy,"

"...Does that mean good?" Dravla asked.

"Hell yeah!"

"Oh then- yes?"

Lance grins to himself as they strut into the lively building and admires how the party seemed to be both energetic yet fancy? Like a crazy ball.

"You see Keith anywhere?"  
"Not yet," Dravla looks over the crowd, "But they are most likely on their way."

"So what is Ruru doing tonight if Tellru and we are all out?"

"She is being watched by one of the older children in the neighborhood."

"Oh cool," Lance pauses to put a hand on his stomach when it growls.

"Hungry?" Dravla inquired.

"Yeah,"

"We'll let's grab some grub," he motions to the food tables lining the side of the room.

"I can eat the stuff here?"

"Only the stuff on the white tables," Dravla instructs

"Okay? Why only the white tables?" he points to it.

"Well-," Dravla pauses, "There are two different tables of food here tonight. The _purple table_ and the white table- just take my advice and don't eat anything from the purple table."

"Will do," Lance shrugs, eyeing the purple table curiously. Ignoring it, for now, he looks over the white table and plucks up some of the deserts off it. Wait till Keith got there- that guy had such a sweet tooth.

Munching down on the grub, starving for something to eat, he stuffs his face.

"Oh, I see them. They have just arrived-" Dravla announced, gushing at his equivalent, "Is she not the most beautiful creature you have ever seen?"

"Probably," Lance refuses to turn away from the table and continues to stuff his face. He wondered what kind of outfit Keith was wearing…

Dravla pursed his lips, "Keith is here too,"

Lance swallows, "What is he wearing?"

"Why don't you just turn around and look for yourself?"

"I'm mentally preparing myself. But could you describe him to me? It would help settle my nerves."

"Why would you be nervous?"

"Cause I may not be able to keep my hands off him…" Lance admits in a tiny voice

"Ooh~?" Dravla chuckles, "Well okay-" he clears his throat, listing Keith's traits off slowly, "Well to start, he is wearing white."

"...Andddddd?"

"Well, I'll start from the top. His hair is pulled back a little in a ponytail,"

"Criminal," Lance gasped, "Go on."

"He took off that undergear thing you both always wear but changed it with one of the pure's white shirts. It is pretty similar to your undershirt honestly. Then, his is wearing a vest with red engravings… uh- I don't know how to describe engravings. They are swirly? With pants. Black pants. They are skin tight if you were curious."

"I am very curious." Lance confirms

"Well they are." Dravla tries not to snicker. He raises his hand to wave at Tellru when she spots him. Since Lance wasn't looking, he didn't notice the way Keith was soaking in the back of his form, eyeing his back almost hungrily.

Lance tapped his fingers on the table nervously, "I don't think I can do this,"

"You'll be fine," Dravla assures him, "Here they come,"

Mentally preparing himself for the battle to come, Lance shakes his shoulders a bit. Like pulling off a band-aid, he turned on his heel just as Keith got close enough to greet him.

Startled at Lance's sudden turn, he faltered for but a moment before saying, "Hey." he sounds awkward, and he realizes it too, his lips pulling into a thin line.

Lance waves back, "Hey…" he can't help but draw his eyes up and down, taking in everything Keith had to offer him. Dravla had been spot on in his description, and Keith's outfit seemed to match's Lance's a lot, just varying colors.

"Some party, huh?" Lance started to understand what Dravla meant with 'Poetic" when Keith peeks at him from under his bangs, blue markings of face paint covering his cheeks.

To Lance, blue looked too good on Keith for it to be legal.

"Yeah," Keith agrees. He pauses, and clears his throat. A silence falls between them.

Dravla looks back and forth at them for at least 10 seconds, waiting for them to say more before he tilts his head back and groans dramatically, "Okay, yeah no. Not that it's not a jump in the pond talking with you both but- this is our song~" Dravla took Tellru's hand. She chuckled and they started towards the other dancing Coeihns.

Lance watched them go, grateful for the chance to be alone with Keith, but dreading it all the same. "So uh…" what exactly were they suppose to do here? What kinds of things did Coeihns normally do at parties? Dancing seemed to be a thing, and snacking at the tables- but what else?

Scratching at his head, unsure, he glances cautiously to Keith. He has stepped back at this point, leaning against the table behind him and staring at his feet.

Lance had never seen Keith with his hair up before, so this sight was a very new experience for him. It was so shocking how well Keith pulled off the look.

He dare call it almost unfair how amazing he looked, if Lance had to be honest.

"You cheater…" he grumbles to himself as he stepped closer to Keith. Not expecting the approach, Keith leaned back a few inches, eye's wide.  
"W-What?" he stammered. Lance's eyes trailed down his body, pressing as close and pushing up his glasses.

"Dravla told me about what you were wearing and I just- I wanted to see for myself." his hand found its way to Keith's shoulder, flattening out the strap there. He hummed approvingly, "Nice vest,"

Keith averted his gaze, quietly mumbling, "Thanks," The blush is too prominent to miss.

"It suits you. And with your hair up-" He sneaks the chance to take Keith's hand into his own.

"Tellru suggested it." Keith explains softly, eyes wide and searching

"That woman is a genius,"

Keith is nervously playing with Lance's hand, stammering a compliment "Red uh- it looks nice on you."

"You mean the markings?" Lance almost reaches up to touch them. Keith nods.

"We match." he pauses, "I feel as though Dravla and Tellru purposively did that."

"I have no doubt," Lance agrees with a chuckle.

The two of them pause when Dravla spins by with Tellru, smiling at them.

"Don't be afraid to join us!" Dravla called from the dance floor, almost like he was calling out a challenge.

"I don't dance," Keith calls back

Lance is suddenly singing, "I know you can~"

Startled, Keith blinks a few times. Not sure where that came from he mutters, "Not a chance."

Lance throws his head back to laugh hysterically, continuing to sing, "If I can do this-" he spun, "Well, you can do that!"

"...What are you doing?"

"You ever see high school musical?' Lance inquired because he was totally one of those kids that saw all three at least 5 times.

"No."

"Ah, then the joke is ruined for you," Lance shook his head, disappointed. He holds his hand out to Keith then, "Come dance with me."

"No."

Lance whined, "Why not?"

"I don't like to dance,"

"But you would be dancing with me. It really isn't that hard," Lance says.

"Says you."

"Says me, so trust me," Lance held out his hand, "I'll teach you."

"You are partially blind."

"I could dance with my eyes closed even before I went blind, you know,"

"Oh," he looks away, "I still won't."

"Keith."

He huffed, scowling at the paladin before him, "What?"

Lance leaned in, his lips brushing Keith's ear, "Dance with me,"

Like Lance had just cast some magic spell, Keith's spine straightened, his cheeks flushed, and he nodded numbly.

Taking Lance's hand he followed him to the center of the dance floor, almost angry with himself to how easily his resolve cracked from Lance's word.

It was too late to go back though, and he was forced to stand in the crowds of Coeihns and _dance._

Keith stood awkwardly, not sure how to really move his body. He had never been one for dancing in the first place and he couldn't recall ever even attempting to dance with another person before.

Lance, on the other hand, was a natural, rolling his hips and moving in ways that Keith couldn't help but gawk at.

"It isn't that hard, Keith," Lance insists, spinning to point at him. "C'mere," taking Keith's hands and holding them at a distance he moves their arms slowly, getting Keith into a rhythm. He follows eventually, frowning at their feet. "Just have fun with it, Keith!"

"I don't have fun when I'm dancing!" he grumbled.

"Blasphemy! Spin!" Lance wrapped both his arms around Keith's waist, lifted him, and spun him around. Keith yelled in surprise."

"Lance!" when he was dropped back to the floor, Keith hit him.

"Your face was so funny!" Lance cackled.

Keith glared, "Oh yeah?" he reached for Lance. With a tight grip on his hips, he lifts the startled blue paladin up into the air.

The smirk he gave him pissed Lance off.

"Do I even weigh anything to you?" Lance demanded when Keith didn't seem to lose any stamina to the action.

"Like a kitten," he admits, squeezing Lance's hips.

Sweet Parlog, Lance would never admit how hot that was. "Shut up," he wiggled out of the hold and back to the ground. Dancing for a few more minutes, he eventually got Keith to copy a little dance move of his. Lance felt like a proud parent.

"You aren't that bad," he cheers "We could make a dancer out of you yet,"

"No thanks," Keith cringed,

"It is an important skill to learn." Lance insists, "You can use it in all sorts of situations- as well as charm your way through parties~" he waggled his eyebrows up and down. Keith snorted.

"I don't go to parties,"

"I figured, but your charm would still improve."

"Like I could trust you when it comes to charm," Keith teases. Lance fakes a gasp.

"What does that mean? I am the best at charming."

"Is that so?"

"I can charm anyone here with my mad dancing skills,"

"Sure," Keith rolls his eyes.

"It's true-" there was a pause between them. Realizing Lance suddenly got hesitant, Keith lifted his eyebrow

"What?"

"I'll show you my signature move," the tempo they had entered was forced to a change when Lance reached for Keith. Wrapping his arms around his waist, he turned Keith too suddenly, pressing his knee between his thighs.

Gasping in surprise Keith bumped into Lance's chest, not expecting them to stand still. Before he can shift his feet to balance himself, Lance leaned towards him.

"Wait-" Keith clung to Lance's shoulders when the blue paladin dipped him.

Tilting his chin, the room falls away when a pair of lips slides against his own.

Keith has never gotten so lost in a kiss before, despite having shared every previous one with the paladin cradling him. It was mind blowing for reasons he couldn't fathom and then, the space between them explodes and Lance parts their lips.

Keith tastes him and he realizes he's been starving.

With his heart missing beats, puttering in some strange rhythm in his chest, he couldn't think. Back and forth his thoughts went until he felt light headed. It was almost cruel in the fact that his hands couldn't seem to bring Lance close enough towards him.

Pulling away with a succulent pop of their mouths, Keith gasps for air.

"S-So…" Lance buried his face into his shoulder as he lifted him back up, "Did I take your breath away?"

Keith bites his lip; trembling at just how easily Lance had done just that. Taking a moment to assure his voice wouldn't waver, he says, "You kiss everyone when you dance with them?"  
"No. This was the first time I added a kiss to that move."

Someone cue the violins and animate the furniture, Keith felt like had stumbled into some fairy tale because there was just no way that this Cuban boy was real. It couldn't be possible that they were sharing this moment- this wonderful moment.

"Well, it wasn't bad," they share a small and timid peck of a kiss before moving back into the dancing flow they had a moment before.

It felt more… intimate, when Lance tugged Keith a little closer, his hand trailing to his waist. Hand in hand, they spun the great span of the ballroom, dark eyes locked with each other.

Keith hadn't even realized his other arm had been hanging loosely in the air, too caught up in Lance's proximity.

When Lance whispered, "You can hold on to me, Keith," He flushed and nodded, his hand slowly lifting to Lance's shoulder, hesitantly gripping it.

With their chests pressed firmly against each other, Keith felt light headed. The entire room was spinning, blurred in his vision except for Lance. He was clear. He was beautiful. He was intoxicating.

It made him feel hypersensitive to the sound of his breathing ghosting against his ear. It filled him with this urge to just- touch. It sounded weird, but that was how it was. He just wanted to feel everything he could about Lance. His biceps, his shoulders, his back-

Lance shivered below his fingers tips when Keith's heated hand slides over the open slip of his shirt and straight to his back.

No one should look this tempting, Keith concluded. It simply wasn't fair.

He caressed the scapula of this beautiful Cuban boy, sliding his hand down the very curve of his spine. When Lance inhaled sharply at his touch, Keith pressed a kiss to the side of his face.

"You're uh… you're getting a little handsy there, Keith," he whispers in a weak voice like he's forgotten how to breath.

"So were you, a few hours ago," Keith countered

Lance chuckled, timid and small, "You got me there.." he whined when Keith dips his fingers below his shirt again, not expecting himself to react so much to other's touch.

Keith was enjoying this more than he should, watching his own hands with glee as they slide along Lance's prominent spine and broad shoulders- his hips would be the death of him.

"You got some weird liking towards my back,' Lance notes, his voice quivering.

"It is a nice back… very defined spine," he trails his thumb up it. "Though, I don't really…" he cuts off."

"W-What?" Lance inquired weakly.

Keith is hesitant, lifting his gaze to eye the room carefully, "Everyone can see you this way," he explains. "They can see your back."

"Is that a problem?"

"Kind of," he shrugs slightly, "I don't know how to explain it…" he presses his face into Lance's neck, sucking on the skin below his ear. Lance makes a strangled noise, almost stepping away.

"W-We're in public," he stammered. Keith was very pleased with that thought. He liked the idea of everyone seeing this- of knowing that Lance was his.

How strange. He hated others seeing Lance's body, but he had no problem showing it off it was shown as something that belonged to him.

This has to be what Lance was talking about, no doubt. Lance wasn't his. He didn't own Lance.

Nothing too exciting had really happened between them yet anyway, but… b-but he couldn't help but truly believe that Lance was his and his alone. Of course, that might not have been the same for Lance, but something deep inside him was happy with this.

Content with sharing this with only Lance.

"I'm not doing anything." he says innocently, "You could just consider this a back massage,"

"Keith," Lance says, his body shaking. "Seriously…"

Keith's breath comes out ragged, something hot and dangerous boiling in his stomach, "I can't help it."

Lance nods and murmurs into his ears, "Listen… w-we gotta stop, before things take a turn south. We are going to stand here like this for a few more seconds, no touching, no kissing- you don't get to smirk, and I will resist the urge to fondle your chest."

"And then what?" Keith inquires quietly.

"Then we're going to step away, calm down, get something to eat, talk to Coeihns- do anything to waist this next hour- and then we can go back to the apartment and you can do whatever you want to me while I touch every single inch of you. Deal?"

Keith nods, his heart pounding with excitement, "You read my mind," Pressing their foreheads together, their musky breathing mixing together messily. Swaying gently from side to side, simply breathing and staring, they slowly, painfully tear away.

They turn to go opposite ways despite both of their minds screaming at them to just find the closest closet and have their fun there.

But Lance wanted this to be special. He didn't want any of this to just be some fling in some dirty closet. He wanted Keith to enjoy it- to feel how much Lance loved him from it.

But oh, he couldn't wait to get back.

Wasting an hour sounded easier said then done at this point.

* * *

0000-00

Dravla shook his head, munching furiously on the small tray of food he had acquired from the white table, ("I don't get it,") he spoke his native tongue.

("Neither do I,") Tellru sighed, ("But you get why this is frustrating, right?")

("Completely. They are just- do they not seem like equivalents?")

Tellru nodded, ("Of course they _seem_ like equivalents, it is frustrating because they aren't!")

Dravla nodded, ("I know! They were just groping each other on the dance floor! How are they able to do that here but not in the bedroom?") He gasped, ("We should just lock them in their bedroom. They'll do it eventually. It could be like trying to potty train a Froas'tlac,")

("Dravla, no. They aren't pets,")

("It could be so easy!")

("It could be…") She hit him, ("But _you_ had to interrupt them this morning!") Tellru had been so pissed to learn this, because Dravla hated keeping secret from her.

("I'm sorry! I had no idea they were doing anything,") he insisted. ("I won't next time… if there is even a next time with how slow these two are,")

("Perhaps that is just how their cultures works. Maybe it normal kind of banter to never truly reveal how you feel about the one you love?")

"(That sounds horrible,") Dravla frowns.

("It does,") she pauses, ("But, look how much they have improved since they have first arrived. I'm positive it won't take long for them to come together,")

("Hopefully,") Dravla agrees. Looking down at his empty plate, Dravla goes to retrieve some more. From time to time he would see Lance off and about, eyeing Keith from across the room. Keith was doing the same.

Dravla pondered if it was perhaps some strange courting ritual between humans to purposively keep a distance, but never fully take your eyes off your partner? It must have been…

Either way, Dravla paid them little mind and talk to the other guards, discussing their victory and what they were going to do to quicken the reconstruction of the wall. While they had closed up the spots for now, those holes weren't sturdy enough to last forever.

By the end of the day, Dravla was having a splendid night… Until a certain fella by the name of Keith sauntered over to him with a plate of all too familiar looking food in his hands.

He was already eating one, his expression blank, 'Hey Dravla."

Dravla couldn't believe his eyes at what he was consuming, "You uh-" he tried to hold back a laugh, "Do you know what you're eating?"Keith pauses to give him a little look, then glances down at his food. Then he shrugs like the naive little alien boy he was.

Keith pauses to give him a little look, then glances down at his food. Then he shrugs like the naive little alien boy he was.

Dravla shook his head, "Well, I hope you planned on having a fun time tonight,"

"..." Keith frowns, "What do you mean?"

"Answer me a question- are you planning on becoming Lance's equivalent tonight?"

Keith blushed, giving him an angry huff, "Wha- no!" he pauses, "I-I dunno…" he looks away, "Maybe- it's none of your business!" he corrects himself quickly.

Dravla claps, "Aww, look at the progress you have made. Bravo Keith. I'm glad you have finally accepted your long term attraction and love for our dear blue champion and will finally become his Equivalent,"

"Shut up, Dravla!" Keith snaps, red in the face. "Whether I become one or not is private!"

"Well, can you blame me after seeing you eat that?" he motions to the plate of food.

"...Huh? What does this have to do with anything?"

"I can't believe you just ate them…" Dravla was shaking, laughter bubbling up from his stomach.

Keith didn't understand, "What do you mean?"

"Well did you get those off the white table or the purple table?" Dravla asked

"Does it matter?"

"Oh yeah,"

"The purple table,"

Dravla cringed, "Ooh, not good if you were planning on going to sleep tonight,"

Keith spit out the desert in his mouth, having already eaten three- "What do you mean? What is this?"

"A uh- oh, what do you call it in your language?" Dravla sighs, "It's like a drug."

"A drug?!" He demanded, "Why would you just leave that stuff lying around?!"

"Because one, most people don't mind if they eat it even if by accident and two, it is usually common knowledge that the white tables mean pure and a calm night and purple means _fun time_ ," he waggled his eye brows

Keith almost threw up- which might actually be a good thing to try at this point, "Don't do that. What does this drug do? "He was ready to gag up whatever this was.

"Kicks your sex drive into gear,"

Keith slams his fingers into his throat to hit his gag reflex, several Coeihns stare at him, kind of disturbed at the display

"Uh… Keith? What are you doing?" Lance approached them from across the room

"Need to… throw up… immediately-" he gagged struggling to upchuck

"Why?" Lance has a plate in his hands. Keith slaps it away, "Hey! Those were mine!" He whined

"What table did you get those from?! Did you eat any already?!"

"No jeez- what is wrong with you?"

"What table did you get those from?"

"The white one- like Dravla said to do,"

"Oh, so Tellru just forgot to tell Keith." Dravla notes. He frowns suspiciously, "Or she purposively withheld the information- but Tellru wouldn't do that… probably."

"Well what's the big deal if he ate from the purple table?" Lance asks.

"It affects you- makes you horny," Dravla snorts.

"So then this stuff is a drug?!" Lance frowned, looking a little off put "That is good to know before I ate them- Oh my god, you ate them!" he realizes half way through the sentence and points to Keith.

"No duh!"

"Oh my god-" Lance covered his mouth

"Don't say it," Keith gasped through his flushed face

"You roofied yourself… you actually roofied yourself! How do you even do that?!"

"Shut up!"

"Hey," Tellru approaches them, "What is with all the screaming over here,"

"Keith ate from the purple table, accidentally," Dravla explains to her. Tellru makes a face and looks at him.

"...Really?" she frowns.

"You didn't tell me about the tables!"

She pauses, "Oh… Oh yes, I didn't. I completely forgot. I was honestly just very excited to get you here to see Lance and you together. You look adorable in the outfits I made."

"Tellru, not the point right now," Lance says.

"Or, right. You had a single desert?" Tellru inquires, pulling a examine light from her bag and shinning it in Keith's eyes.

"I had three," He mumbles, looking ready to fall over.

"Well, it should be fine, I suppose. It shouldn't affect you that badly- you'll just feel a little dizzy."

"You sure?" Dravla inquired, "I mean- he isn't a Coeihn, and his body structure is a lot smaller than ours. While one dosage of something may not do much for us… for someone like him-" he trailed off.

Tellru bit her thumb, "You have a point, treasure. We should get you back to your apartment for now, just in case things get worse,"

"Worse?" Lance didn't like the sound of that.

"In case he- you know- in case he needs to relieve himself," Dravla snorted.

"Stop making fun of him."

'He is the one who ate them!" Dravla insists.

"And I am the one who should have warned him. This is my fault. Let's just get him back to your apartment for now," Tellru nudges them out the door.

Lance eyes Keith carefully as they walk to the Kever station. He didn't seem different, but through time, he noticed Keith's movements growing slugging. He couldn't even seem able to walk up the Kever steps without slipping a little.

"Whoa- hey," Lance caught Keith when he fell backwards.

Blinking blearily he says, "S-Sorry. Just got dizzy is all…"

"Come on," Lance helped him up the steps, "Let's get you back to the apartment,"

The entire Kever ride, Lance stared at Keith. He seemed fine for the most part, but his breathing was getting weird. His hold on Lance's hand tightened from time to time, and when his palm got sweaty, he pulled away.

"Are we… there yet?" he whispered breathlessly.

"Almost," Tellru sniffed the air then covered her nose, "Oh yeah, it is definitely starting to take affect,"

Dravla whistled, "Jeez Keith- take a chill pill,"

'W-What?" he stammered, hugging himself, trying to quell how his body was shaking despite how hot he felt.

"We should hurry," when the Kever arrived, they practically ran back to the apartment, stopping right at the steps. "Okay-" Tellru lifted her palm and pressed it to Keith's forehead, taking his temperature. She frowns and glances at Dravla, who shares her worried glance "We should go," Tellru tells them, scanning over Keith, concerned, "This will pass in a few hours… hopefully," she honestly couldn't tell how this was going to play out considering Keith was smaller and of a different species then them, "Just make sure to drink water and don't try to fight it too much or it'll just end up hurting- okay?" she says in a worried motherly tone. "Just push through,"

"What- what are we supposed to do?"

"You don't need to do anything." Tellru tells him. "Keith just needs to- you know."

"What?"

Dravla cuts in, "He's got to pleasure himself~"

Tellru hits his chest a little when Lance and Keith stepped back, eye's wide, "What?!"

"It'll be fine," Tellru says, turning to leave.

"W-whoa whoa wait! You can't just leave us!" Lance squeaked.

"Your room is right up the steps and down the hall, you'll be fine. If you really need us you can send a message to our house using that box right there-" she motions to it. "Just say our name into the speaker and it'll send it right over."

"B-But- he is- we can't share a room with how he is right now!" Lance insists.

Tellru purses her lips, "It takes two to tango, Lance. As long as you keep your own self control, if you can do that, you should be fine."

"Do you even know what tango is?" he frowns.

"Not really- but I think I heard you mention it once," she shrugs. "But the point still stands… though I don't see why I have to tell you this. You are equivalents, after all," she smirks, "If things go in that direction then it should be fine, right?"

With a blush, Lance tries to hit her, "Tellru!"

"Have a nice night~" Dravla cackled.

And thus they were left alone, standing in the dark in front of their apartment. Unable to look Keith in the eye, Lance clears his throat. "...We should go inside."

"Yeah."

Walking a little bit to his left, they took the steps at a painfully slow pace. Keith was gasping for air, his legs shaky and his body covered in a light coating of sweat. He was flushed from his chest to his ears, gaze wavering.

Halfway to the room, Keith started to fall over and Lance put a hand out, panicking, "Keith?"

Keith groaned when Lance caught him. It was… sensual.

Throwing his hands up and stepping back, Keith lifted his hands to cover his mouth, eyes startled and watery. "I... I didn't mean-" he books his down the rest of the hall, scrambling to grab his key. Lance followed after, hovering at a distance. When Keith finally managed to open the door, the two stumbled in.

"I'm going to bed," Keith doesn't go to the bed and instead moves over to the couch. Lance watches him, concerned and flustered

"You can have the bed," Lance tries to insist.

"I would prefer the couch."

"O-Okay… s-shouldn't you-?" he wants to say what Dravla said to do, but just suggesting that sounded embarrassing. "G'night."

"Night," he slurred, plopping down and curling into himself. Lance had nothing else to do but go to bed as well, so he kicked off his shoes.

Throwing off his vest and shirt, he changed into his tank top, watching as Keith quietly did the same on the couch.

At the party, they had discussed doing… _something,_ tonight. Lance wasn't sure how far they would have gone, but something was definitely in motion. Now though- it didn't feel right.

It made him feel sick at the idea of trying to do anything with Keith tonight with the possibility of some drug being shared between them.

So he laid down and tried to sleep. Keith would be fine. It was only 3 deserts after all.

Dravla talked like that was nothing to a Coeihn so Keith would probably be okay if he could fall asleep.

But Keith didn't fall asleep.

Keith was huffing, quiet groans and whimpers slipping from time to time. This went on for 45 minutes before Lance finally sat up,

"Seriously Keith this- it isn't going to go away so- just go to the bathroom."

"I'm… fine.."

"You are not you roofied fool," he sighs.

"Lance, I told you I'm fine."

'You are not!'

"Yes I am!"

"Keith just go!"

"I don't need to, I'm fine-"

"Keith!" he roared, "Go into the bathroom right now!" he hadn't meant to yell like he did, but it seemed enough to finally convince Keith to get up and trudge over to it.

He just hoped that this would pass.

An hour ticked by and Keith hadn't come out yet. Not like Lance expected this to end quickly, but he thought Keith would at least come out for water or something.

"..." Lance purses his lips, trying not to listen, but still found himself straining his ears to hear any noise all the same. Keith was… well it was obvious to what he was trying to do in there…

Slowly getting up from the bed, Lance tip toed to the kitchen, grabbed some water, and brought it to the bathroom door. He gave it a few nervous taps. "K-Keith? You okay in there? I brought you some water."

Pressing his ear to the door, he could hear Keith breathing- gasping and wet.

Then, he heard a thud.

It was heavy, like the sound of a body falling onto the floor.

"Keith?!" He slammed his fist against the door. Roofied or not this drug was alien- just because it affected the Coeihns one-way didn't mean it would be the same for Keith! "Keith open the door!

There was no reply. "Keith!? Keith hold on!" he stepped back and lifted his foot. Kicking out a few times with all his might he eventually wore the door down enough to fly open, splintering the edge of it.

He rushed in, horrified to find Keith sprawled out across the ground. "Keith!" he slides to his side, grabbing his shoulders and turning him over carefully. "Keith? Keith can you hear me?"

Eyes blearily blinked up at him, "I can't move…" he whispered out hoarsely. His face contorted into pain, tears prickling his eyes.

Lance wondered just how long Keith had been standing here, frozen in place before he fell over. He hadn't even managed to take off his pants, so probably a while.

"Keith? Oh god…" knowing he had to get Keith somewhere more comfortable and get help, he tucked Keith into his arms and lifted him up.

Managing to pull Keith back to the bed, hating how limp he felt, he placed him onto the sheets. He made a grab for the glass of water on the bedside table and brought it to Keith's lips. Barely able to lift his own head, Keith drank slowly, gulping until the entire glass was gone.

"Hot…" he says, "It's so hot…" he squirms, breathing too ragged and concerning. "I feel like… I'm dying," he turned, and rolled into himself.

"Hold on," Lance pleaded, "J-Just- just hold on okay?" he had to get help. He should go get Tellru and Dravla. "I'll get help," he tells Keith.

The hand on his wrist weakly tightened. Keith looked at him with wide and frightened eyes, "Where are you going?" he croaked.  
"I'm only leaving for a second," Lance promised him, his voice trembling too much to sound like his own, "I'm going to go get Tellru and Dravla,"

Keith's breathing quickens, eyes shifting in a small panic, "Don't go…"

"Keith."

"Please. Don't go." the tear that slides down his face was horrifying to Lance. He reached forward to brush it away.

He didn't want to leave- especially not after this- but he had to. He didn't know what to do. Keith was in pain right now! He needed a doctor!

"I'm going to be right back," he kissed Keith's temple. "I promise. Wait for me. Okay? Can you do that Keith? Huh?"

Keith took a few heavy breaths before nodding, "O-Okay,' he agreed weakly.  
"That's it." he praised him. Adjusting his pillow, he squeezed Keith's hand and ran out. Stumbling down the blurry hallway he ran outside. It was hard to maneuver around in the dark but he eventually located the box Tellru had mentioned before.

Grabbing it, he lifted the receiver and called Tellru and Dravla's name into the box.

 _Connecting_

A second later, Tellru's voice came through the other end.

"Hello?"

"Tellru! I don't know- he isn't getting better! He looks horrible and he is in pain!" Lance yelled into the phone

"Lance? Oh no…" Tellru did her best to calm the poor boy, "Calm yourself Lance, it will okay." she pauses, "Has he tried masturbating?"  
Lance fumbled, "I-I think?" god this was awkward, "He went into the bathroom to try but then he collapsed. He can't move- Tellru, what do I do?"

"He need to get the drug out of his system,' Tellru concludes, "The only way to do that at this point is masturbation- releasing the drug."

"He can't!" Lance yells, "Tellru he can't-"

"Lance," a second voice sounds through the box.

"Dravla," he breaths out in relief.

"Okay- it is going to be okay. I'm not a doctor Lance, but I think I know what is happening here. It happened to a friend of mine once. If you do consume that drug, it is recommended you only have a limit of 10 pastries of it. Anymore than that and it can be considered a form of overdose- it will put your body into overdrive to the point where you can't even move. You need to remove the drug as fast as possible. As Tellru said, that is through your cum."

"...Awkward," Lance's voice is shaking.

"Yeah, awkward,"

"Boys," Tellru grumbles, "Back to the issue,"

"Right right,' Dravla agrees. "With Keith's case, you two are so much smaller than use that even just three of those things could probably get you to that point."

"Are you saying that Keith's life is- in danger?" Lance covered his mouth in horror.

Dravla sighs heavily, "More or less, yes. So you have to act fast. You are going to need to step up."

"...What are you saying?' Lance frowns.

"I'm saying that if it is affecting him so much that he can't move he is going to need something else to help him through this."

Lance's tongue felt thick, "And that involves what, exactly?" He asked cautiously

"You may not wish to hear this but… you might just have to… do the work for him." Dravla says slowly, tiptoeing around the subject as much as possible.

"I can't," Lance felt a buckle in his knees.

"This won't go away until he gets it out of his system, Lance," Tellru informs him. "I don't want to push you or him, that is the last thing I want, especially in the means of equivalency, but we are talking about Keith's health right now." there was a long pause, "Lance, he could die," Her tone is serious and lance knows they aren't kidding. This wasn't some ploy to get them in bed together- it was something that could severely harm Keith if it wasn't taken care of.

"You don't have to have sex with him Lance. But if he can't masturbate, then he is going to need you to do it for him,"

Lance was sliding to the ground, blood pooling at his cheeks. At the same time- his heart was hammering with another feeling: fear. He had seen how much pain Keith was in.

He didn't ever want Keith to suffer.

He was going to die if Lance didn't help him.

"I…"

"Try your best. If nothing changes call us again and I'll fetch the doctor. Before you ask, he will tell you the same thing. Some form of pleasure is the only way to get rid of this, so either you manage to do it... or the doctor will find a way,"

Lance didn't want anyone touching Keith in that kind of way, "I'll do it,"

"Good lad- now get going."

With the call ending there, Lance couldn't even remember hanging up the phone and turning back to the apartment, but he had.

Lance was half way down the hall when a cry, piecing and desperate, called out for him. He scrambled back to their apartment and swung the door open. "KEITH?!"

Keith was where Lance had left him, curled into a tight ball and panting heavily. Lifting his head slowly, Keith reached for him desperately

"Lance… Lance!" he sobbed, pain lacing his voice.

Closing the door and locking it, Lance took quick long steps and lifted Keith into his arms, cradling him. "Shhh. Shh, I'm here. I told you I'd be back,"

Keith nuzzled into his shoulder, his body sticky with sweat and shaking horribly, "I-It's getting worse…"

"It is?" Lance whispers, "Oh… I'm so sorry Keith," he hugs him tighter. "Hey…" he says sweetly, hoping he didn't sound as nervous as he felt.

Keith tensed, his head lulling to one side to look at him. "Lance?" he croaked. He sounded so weak- so fragile.

"I'm here," he sat to Keith's side, reaching a hand up to press it to Keith's forehead. "I-" he sucked in a breath, "Jeez, you are burning up,"

"Did you get… Tellru?"

"I talked to her. She told me how to help you."

Keith's chest was heaving horribly, "...Yeah?"

"It's um-" Lance wasn't sure how to explain this. "This is going to sound weird but I'm going to have to- I mean I need to- if you are okay with- you need to cum."

Keith blinks once, then twice, not understanding.

"I need to … help… you." Lance drawls out.

"You have to what?" Keith's eyes widened.

"I-I know that is a tall order but- Keith this isn't healthy for you. S-Something like a form of overdoes. It could hurt you. It is hurting you," Lance grit his teeth, "You can't move."

Keith tried to in the moment, but he failed.

"So I have to- do it… for you?"

Keith's eyes flicker to Lance's hands, and he blushes, "You have to what?" he yelled a little louder.

"I don't want to force you." Lance's mind was flashing back to a year ago, at Garrison. At the party.

Oh god…

"I-I can't do this unless you give me the okay but- y-you're drugged Keith. What you say now might not be the same tomorrow and I don't want you to-" he choked up a little, "I don't want you to hate me for this."

Keith barely managed to shake his head a little, "I could never…"

"Never say never," Lance joked weakly. "B-But I… I want to help you Keith. We have to do this soon or else."

The pause between them was staggering, neither of them knowing what to say or do.

Eventually, Keith spoke, broken and ready, "Okay…"

"Are you sure?"

"I said okay," Keith says again.

"You have to mean it." Lance cupped his face, gentle and firm. Keith's gaze locked with his. "I need you to be okay with me doing this. Because someone has to if you can't and if it isn't me than… than I have to find someone who can. "

The red paladin tensed, looking horrified at the thought. "No."

'I thought that too- but I'm the only one here right now so… Keith. Will you let me- I want to help you. Will you let me touch you?"

Keith sucked in a little breath, startled, "I…" he whispered something. Lance leaned in a little better to hear, "I'm okay.. if it's you, I'm okay."

"...Okay… Okay," Lance nods a few times. Taking a moment to compose himself, he shifted their positions.

Gulping a little, torn between feeling aroused with this situation and caught in a clutching fear- he reached for Keith's pants. Sliding them off his waist, he looked up at Keith for any sign of discomfort. Keith stared at him with half lidded eyes. They wavered at his gaze, not sure whether to keep eye contact or look away.

"You okay?"

"Yeah…"

Lance's hand hovered above Keith's body, hesitant and trembling. "I just-" he didn't know if he should just go for it or give Keith a little time to mentally prepare.

He slowly reached down, placing his palm flat on Keith's thigh. Keith jumped a little at the content, sucking inward. Lance massaged the area gently, smoothing it over up and down, trying to be comforting.

"I Got'cha," he tells Keith rhythmically, "Just let me do the work- o-okay?"

"You sound… nervous…" Keith says through gritted teeth.

"Course I am…" He eyed the situation between Keith's legs. "I'm- this is intense."

Keith grips his shoulder, "Are you- if you don't want to, Lance-"

"No. No that isn't what I meant. I want to be the one to help you. I just-" he chuckles hysterically, "Forget it. It's nothing."

It was everything, actually. Garrison. The party. The punch. The stuff in the punch. That night.

The hatred.

He froze up when his fingers slipped below the waist band, "Y-You sure about this, Keith?"

What if Keith hated him?

"Dammit Lance just- please… just do it," Keith hide his face into his arm.

There was no going back from this.

"H-Here I go."

"Don't announce it…" Keith whimpered into his pillow

Knowing he would back down if he waited any longer, Lance tugged Keith's boxers down with one sharp tug.

Sweet Parlog…

* * *

-00000-

Almost an hour later, Keith was collapsing against Lance, gasping for air.

"Hey. Hey!" Lance threw his arms up to catch him. Barely managing, he lifted him up. "Keith?"

His chest heaved, face red and eye clouded- still caught in the haze of his orgasm. "L…" his hips twitch, "Lance,"

"Are you okay?"

After a few deep breaths, he nods meekly. "I'm… tired."

"We should get you cleaned up," Lance says."Oh uh-" Keith lazily looked down at himself. Completely nude below his torso he was sticky with both sweat and… other things.

"Oh uh-" Keith lazily looked down at himself. Completely nude below his torso he was sticky with both sweat and… other things.

Flushing, he looked away and nodded.

"Here-" Lance scoops Keith's legs up underneath him. Keith makes a small noise of protest but lands flush against Lance's chest without another word. Carrying him in a bridal style fashion, Lance pulled them both from the bed and towards the door. "You aren't in any pain, right?"

Keith barely managed to whisper, "I'm fine,"

They walk in silence to the bathing area. Lance had to peek in a few times to make sure no one was in. The entire complex was abandoned, everyone most likely out partying like they had been earlier. "Okay, hold on," he lowered Keith to a bench. Keith could barely sit up, his upper body lolling from side to side without Lance there to support him.

Stepping away to grab a towel and some spare clothes, Lance returns, scratching his head awkwardly, "So um… We should get you into the water. Can you stand?"

"No." Keith had attempted already. His legs refused to listen to him.

"Then I should- um…" he pointed to Keith's shirt. "Can I take that off?"

"Are you- after what we just did you ask that? You don't really need to get permission at this point," Keith looked away, embarrassed.

"Yes I do, dude. Consent is super important."

Forcing himself to meet Lance's gaze, Keith sighs and nods, "G-Go ahead."

Nimble hands grip the bottom of his shirt and lift it, delicately pulling it over Keith's head. "C'mere," Lance lifts him up, letting Keith cling to his shoulders.

Noting how Lance refused to look at him, especially since he was butt naked, Keith stared down at himself in dismay.

When they moved to the bath water, Lance started with Keith's hair of all things. Using a small pale he would have Keith tilt his head back and then pour water over it. He then lathered his hands with shampoo and ran his fingers over his scalp.

Keith had always let his hair grow out and when he did cut it he did it himself. So he never went to any saloon or barbers… no one had ever washed his hair for him since his dad passed away.

The sensation of Lance's fingers were foreign but not unpleasant. They skillfully curled and scraped against his skull, rubbing the shampoo in deep.

"You still with me, sweetheart?"

The thumping and skipping of his heart was something Keith hadn't been expecting with the nickname, but it was there. "I'm sleepy…"

Lance scratched his head a little, pulling the lose strands behind his ears. "Just gotta finish getting ya clean," he assures him, using his wrist to brush strands trails off water from getting into Keith's eyes.

It was a gentle moment.

Like the calm after some horrible storm.

Keith's body was naturally relaxing from Lance's touch, leaning his head back against the other's bare knee. He was so tired. He couldn't- he was falling asleep.

"Keith?"

"...Huh?" he slurs, his vision growing cloudy.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine,"

There is a long pause- one long enough for Keith to lose focus and slip towards slumber. Seconds before passing out, he thought he heard Lance ask a question.

 _"Do you hate me now?"_

* * *

 ** _So, obviously you all noticed that there is cut between two scenes. If you wish to view the Nsfw/smut scene that ensued with these two, you can go to my archive of my own account. :) I'm so under about the ratings here on fanfiction -_- I don't know what is and is not allowed, but I know it is allowed on Ao. My user name is Smiles4volton there too and it is titles "Let me catch my breath (THE NSFW SIDE OF THE STORY)!_**

 ** _Also, if any of you want to see art work for this story, you can go to my Ao version of this fanfic- or go to my tumblr (Smiles4Voltron) XD :) I make artwork for each chapter so be sure to check it out!_**

* * *

 ** _Reviews:_**

 ** _Whazzat:_** Haha XD Maybe, maybe not~ Who knows. Maybe they'll both top and both bottom- maybe it just depends on the day~

 **Seamor:** AHHHH Seamor! You sweet potato you! You are so sweet and thank you for gushing over my story! ;-; I'm gushing over you for gushing over my story! I'm so glad you like this story so much and it makes me so happy to hear that!

 **Guest:** There would be hell to pay if Keith got hurt. Lance wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

 **AngiMK:** Aww, thank you!

 **Phoenix51:** I am such a tease! I'm sorry! XD (but also not sorry)

 **Pinkdoughnuts:** Bwahahahahah XD I've gotten that throughout the entire last chapter. Everyone yelled at me for being a tease, and I'm sorry, but also not sorry! XD I couldn't help myself!

 **Ewink18:** Oh my gosh thank you! XD I'm so sorry I got in the way of your Klance! They'll get there eventually! XD Promise! You'll see a lot more starting now! :D

 **ENDragneel:** (first off, love you username. Love fairytail) I'm so glad you love Dravla! ;-; That makes me so happy. He be throwing his shoes left and right! XD

 **ammstar11:** That was intense, yeah 0.0 And this chapter wasn't much better, honestly XD Who knows how Rashra knew about the blade (evil laughter)

 **Greencat42:** Someone just had to knock on the door, didn't they? XD

 **Hidasnbabe530:** Bwahahaha, I'm so mean XD But thank you so much! And Rashra does need to have some stabbage to his body going on. Just stab him once, or twice. We'd all be satisfied with that. XD

 **Dick-Grayson-Trash:** Oh my gosh, you used your data on this? I'm so touched but no no! Save your money! XD This fanfic isn't going anywhere! Wait till you get home you silly!


	22. After effects

**Warning: There be some grinding in this chapter! Watch out! XD**

* * *

Keith must have passed out because the next thing he knew he was waking up in the bed the following morning.

He was dressed in pajamas and the sheets had thankfully all been removed, leaving just the mattress. Lance was asleep in a chair to his right, his position uncomfortable- squished within the chair, his arms used as his pillow, and undoubtedly going to make him sore when he awoke.

"Lance…?" It was a battle just to get his body to roll over and extend his arm, "Lance," He tries again, barely managing to graze his fingers to the Blue paladin's knee.

That was a mistake.

With a hiss, he retracted his fingers, caught off guard at the burning sensation. For a moment, when he touched Lance, it felt like his fingers were set ablaze, shooting up his arm in shivers, making it tremble.

"What the-" staring at his fingers, puzzled, he froze when Lance made a noise.

He stirred awake, realization hitting him fast when he opened his eyes, "Keith!" he leaped upward, "You're awake!"

He nods weakly, frozen speechless at the sudden confrontation. Honestly, what could he say? Do they talk about last night? It was obvious what happened so...

"Sorry I uh- you fell asleep in the bath," Lance tells him nervously, "I didn't want to just take you out without actually washing so uh- I washed you. I didn't touch anything longer than I had to, I swear!" he says quickly.

Keith flushed and tore his gaze away, "… Whatever," he plays it off, but it was actually very comforting to find that his body smelled like soap instead of that heavy musk from last night.

"Here," Lance handed him some water. Taking it without looking him in the eyes, Keith takes small sips, "How is your body? I mean- are you in pain?"

"I'm fine," Keith wants to avoid the conversation as much as possible.

"You went through a lot last night so I'm not surprised," Lance admits, seating himself on the edge of the bed. He gives a forced laugh then trails it off to say, "Tellru and Dravla are coming over soon to check on you."

"Okay." Keith nods, swinging his legs over he edge of the bed. When he attempted to stand his knees buckled and he collapsed. Lance barely managed to catch his upper body before it smacked against the floor.

"Keith?" he gasped.

His lips by his ear, his arms around his sides- all these things made something stir inside Keith. It frightened him, making his blood boil.

Ripping out of Lance's arms in a panic he lands back on the bed, gasping for air.

"Don't-!" chills are running up Keith's spine and he isn't sure why "Don't touch me…" the butterflies in his stomach aren't helping the situation. He can't breath. Something is wrong. He wants… what, exactly? He doesn't even know.

He just _wants._

Lance is staring at him with a pale face. Stepping back, he inhales a few times. Then, somehow, he smiles, "Okay." He tells him, "I won't, don't worry. Just rest… okay?"

Keith can't even manage to nod and just turns his head to look away from Lance. What was wrong with him? Was it the drug? That was supposed to be out of his system by now, so what was this?

The rest of the day, Keith was put to bed rest. Tellru said she would stop by but since the drug had such a big effect on Keith's body, taking away his strength, they let him rest as much as possible.

Keith could barely even hold is arms up for longer than a few seconds, meaning Lance had to be the one to take care of him. He made Keith food, helped him change.

They hardly talked

"Say _aah,"_ Lance instructs, holding the spoon out after warming up Keith some soup that Tellru previously made.

A chill runs down Keith's spine, and he looks away. Confused and flustered for reasons that were unknown to him, he hid it was a scowl, "Don't do that, just- give it to me," he snatches the spoon from Lance before he can argue. Startled when Keith took the bowl, Lance steps back, letting him eat.

"Oh uh… yeah, okay," he moves away, busying himself with getting his own bowl. Keith doesn't look at him. He can't.

He couldn't understand this weird blue paladin. How could he just go through his day so naturally after what happened? They-

Just the night before Lance had brought Keith to release- the third one drawing a very inflaming scream from Keith who had called Lance's name like he was the only tether he had to reality.

How could he possibly just talk casually to him after that?

If that wasn't the worst of it, Keith had discovered that he enjoyed… nicknames.

 _Sweetheart._

He quivered than played it off as being cold. Lance went to get him a blanket.

He was enjoying that sweet name, coming out of Lance's sweet mouth, in an overly sweet tone, a little _too much_

"Here you go," Lance threw the blanket over him, tucking him in. It was terribly sweet.

"Do you need anything else?"

Keith was eyeing the bit mark he had made on Lance's arm, tormented at the sight, "N-No." he says quietly. "You've done enough."

"You sure? I can get your whatever.I'm fine," he says a little more forcefully than he intended, but it was too late to go back now.

"I'm fine," he says a little more forcefully than he intended, but it was too late to go back now.

Lance stands there, staring at him. Looking like he wanted to say something, he reconsiders it

"Just um… Get some rest, okay? I'll go get our sheets from the laundry Matt thing down below. It is super weird down there,"

"Be careful," Keith can barely look him in the eye

"Will do. I'll be right back," Lance reached down to grip his shoulder reassuringly. His hand slides down Keith's back as he pulled away, leaving it tingling. It was a friendly gesture and one that shouldn't have meant anything but… but it had Keith's heart pounding.

Blood was rushing to his ears and Keith closes his legs when heat pooled between them. He chokes out a startled gasp.

Lance doesn't seem to notice and goes to the door. He waves and Keith can't seem to find the willpower to wave back.

His skin felt on fire where Lance touched, hot blood pumping to his lower regions

When Lance was gone, Keith curled into himself, wrapping his arms around his trembling form.

What was this?

Why did he suddenly have an unruly urge to- to touch? To touch Lance…? To be touched by Lance…

He squirmed, feeling uncomfortable in his very own skin. What was wrong with him?

* * *

0000-000

Keith was able to walk again after a day of bed rest. Tellru and Dravla had come to see them and were so relieved to see Keith was okay. They even offered to make him a big fancy dinner as an apology.

Tellru blamed herself for not warning Keith beforehand of the purple table. He insisted it wasn't her fault, but she still made the dinner for him anyway and asked them to stop by.

Before she had left, Lance took her arm to ask her something, "Is Keith- sorry, I was just wondering something about the drug and Keith," he tells her.

Glancing around the room, knowing Keith was in the bathroom at that moment, she leans in a little and nods, "What do you need?"  
"Is he still- you know um… pure?" Lance inquired, not sure how far one would have to go to be no longer considered a virgin.

"He is," she tells him gently.

Lance let out a sigh of relief. "That's good… I was just worried that- never mind. Thank you, Tellru."

She pats his back reassuringly, "To become full equivalents, you must go all the way, Lance. Truly become one and what not,"

Nodding, he watches her go. A few hours later, Keith and him were walking from the Kever station to Tellru house, ready to join her for her apology dinner.

Keith's probation was now over and they could walk wherever as they pleased with Dravla having to escort them. Honestly, they both wished their friendly Coeihn would, simply to be the ice breaker between them.

They couldn't even take walks anymore without it being awkward.

Keith had been avoiding Lance.

Well, not exactly. Keith still talked to Lance as if nothing had happened, sharing meals with him and what not but… there was a bite to his tone- A silent warning for Lance to keep his distance.

He had even been avoiding letting Lance physically touch him.

While it had become naturally to hold hands when they walked, Keith made sure to keep a good sized space between them. Either he would place someone else between them or purposively walked ahead of Lance in a quick pace that had him half jogging to keep up with him.

Lance didn't want to say anything if it was what Keith wanted.

This was expected, to be honest.

Lance had forced a carefree smile the morning after that night they shared, but it was s lie. In truth, he was terrified about what happened.

He was terrified of how it would affect them- this little relationship with Keith. Things seemed normal, but they hadn't kissed, held hands- even just keeping eye contact was a struggle.

Had he ruined this?

Had he placed a rift between them now?

Did Keith... hate him? Was he disgusted by him? Was he regretful that it was Lance he turned to for help?

"Lala!" Ruth says,

Pulled from his thoughts, Lance straightened, not even realizing they had made it to Tellru's house already, "O-Oh uh… Hey, sweet pea!"

She grins, tugging on his arm excitedly, "Come!" she seemed to want to show him something and pulled him into their front yard. Dragging him into the house, he barely had time to wave in greeting to Ruru's parents before she yanked him to the backroom.

Lance hadn't expected to see another Coeihn child there.

He was a little smaller then Ruru, with unruly white hair and bright hazel eyes. He blinked nervously up at Lance and gave him a timid wave.

"Friend!" Ruru states proudly.

Lance almost doubled over, "Friend?" he gasped, "You made a friend?"

She grins from horn to horn, "Alba," he announces,

Lance was jumping, "That is great, Ruru! Nice to meet you!" he holds his hand out to Alba excitedly.

Perking up a little at his enthusiasm, the little Coeihn boy takes his hand and shakes it. Looking at Ruru, she nods, looking very serious. Like they had planned something for a while, Alba hesitantly opens his mouth and say, "Holle."

Ruru throws her head back and yells, "(No. No. Alba, it's _hello!_ You were so close this time!)" she tells him

Gasping, Alba flushed in embarrassment, "H-Hello!" he tries again.

Lance puts a hand to his heart at how cute he was, "Hello," he chuckles. Blinking a few times, Alba ducks down and runs off with Ruru in a hurry. Watching them run into the back yard to play, Lance looks at Tellru and Dravla.

They are both grinning, "Can you believe it?" they ask.

"She has a friend," Keith looks so proud, "Where did she meet them?"

"At school- which is even better." Tellru gushes, "Honestly, I think I had you two to thank for that. After she met the both of you, she got a lot more confident in herself."She smiles warmly at them, "Thank you."

"She did it on her own," they insist with pride.

Smiling at each other, Keith's hand graze against Lance's. Tempted to lift it and kiss Keith's knuckles, he froze when the blood drained from Keith's face and he stepped away. He turned on his heels and high tailed it towards the Kitchen, following Dravla. "Need help, Dravla?" he says in a rush.

"Oh uh-" Dravla pauses to stare at him, "Sure?"

With nothing else to do but watch Keith run from him, Lance steps back, his gaze falling his feet.

He didn't notice the long stare Tellru gave him before glancing towards the kitchen, confused.

While dinner was being made, Lance was helping the kids set the table when Ruru asked an odd question.

"Keef not call treasure?"

"What?"

"She wants to know why you don't call Keith treasure," Tellru looks up from the new shirt she is sewing.

Lance swallows, "Why would I call him treasure?" he glances towards the kitchen where Keith was helping Dravla get the drinks.

"Mama call papa,"

Tellru lowered her needle and smiled, "I think she is so used to me calling her father treasure that she kind of expects all equivalents to do that,"

"What call Keef?"

"What is my nickname for Keith? Uh, well…" Lance wasn't sure what he would even be willing to try,

There were so many things honestly- an endless list of things he wanted to attempt to call him but feared the response he would receive; _babe, love, beautiful, honey..._

The only thing he had ever called Keith beside his name, mullet or some other insult was…

"I sometimes call him sweetheart," Lance scratched at his arm, embarrassed.

"I've never heard you call him that," Tellru sends him a curious look."Well I- you aren't always around," Lance insists with a pout,

"Well I- you aren't always around," Lance insists with a pout,

"Well, I don't think I believe you," Tellru challenged, "How are we supposed to believe that you actually call Keith by this name if we have never seen it?"

"Wha- I don't know." He grumbles.

"Then do it, right now," she smirks. She was baiting him, he knew, and he shouldn't fall for it.

"Tellru," he warns.

She turns her head and calls for him before he can stop her. "Oh, Keith? Can you come here for a second?"

"Tellru!" he whines, "I can't- I mean…" he could already hear Keith's steps coming their way. Plopping down in his chair, his back turned to the kitchen, he swallowed when Keith stepped into the dining room.

"Yeah, Tellru?" he asked.

"Can I get your opinion on this design?" Tellru lifted up the shirt she was working on, batting her eyes with nothing by innocence.

"Sure thing,"

Lance could hear him strolling around the table. When Keith came into his view, he sucked in heavily. "H…Hello, sweetheart," he hummed anxiously to him

The red paladin froze and turned, his cheeks exploding into a deep red

Lance fell out of his chair at the sight, "W-Why did you get embarrassed by that?!" he demanded with his own blush

"W-Why did you suddenly call me that?!" Keith countered.

"I just- because! You shouldn't be getting so flustered over it!"

"I'm not!"

"What are you two screaming about in here?" Dravla peeks his head in.

"Nothing!" they yell.

Blinking a few times, he shrugs, "Well come in here, dinner is ready."

Following him, they all sit down at the table. Lance finds himself sitting next to Keith by accident, but it feels awkward to suddenly move, so neither of them says anything.

For a while, they talk to Ruru, asking her about her day, and asking Alba about his family and how he likes school. Alba was a shy boy, answering in small words.

Other than that, however, no one spoke much. It wasn't as though you needed to talk while eating, but Lance felt uncomfortable with this silence.

He was almost thrilled when Tellru cleared her throat to speak, but his stomach dropped at the topic she chooses," How are you feeling, Keith? I'm glad to see you can move again after… what happened."

He nods carefully, "I'm fine."

"No pain, yes?"

"None," he tells them. "I'd rather forget about it, anyway."

Lance wants to agree, and he knows Keith doesn't mean that in any bad way, but he couldn't help but feel distressed that Keith was secretly despising him for this.

"But to think, you had to have the purple cupcakes to get you two to finally do something about-" Dravla motions to them, "This,"

"What is that suppose to mean?" Lance frowns.  
"Oh, I think you know what I mean. I've said it once, and I'll say it as many times as needed, but you two tip toe around each other like nobodies business."

"We do not," Lance argues.

"You've been doing it all day,' Tellru points out.

Lance opens his mouth but falls short. He can't argue with that, but it wasn't his choice in that. Keith was the one who had been ignoring his attempts to talk.

"Awkward as ever with each other," Dravla sighs at them.

"Well, Lance could just call Keith _sweetheart,_ again. I'm sure that could get you two going," Tellru teased.

Lance almost choked on his drink, spitting a little out, "Tellru!" he yelled.

"I'm just saying," she cackles

"Oh, what? What is that?" Dravla inquired, "What is a sweetheart?"

"It's a cute little name Lance gave to Keith. It gets him all flustered," Tellru tells him. Dravla put a hand to his heart."Aww," he

"Aww," he cooes, "That is so cute, Keith. Lance, call him sweetheart, I want to see this!"

"N-No," Lance shakes his head, "That is too embarrassing,"

"Do it! Do it! Do it!" they chant.

After a few minutes of it, Lance eventually muttered it. Keith visibly recoiled, turning away. The group burst into a fit of giggles.

"Stop making fun of me!" Keith growled at them, almost slamming his fork down. Startled speechless at his outburst, Tellru and Dravla glance at each other. Then, they slowly began to snort and snicker again, bursting into a fit of uncontrollable giggles.

Keith makes an upset pouty face, stuffing his mouth with food.

"C-Come on Keith, we're just teasing,' Tellru laughs.

"Yeah! We're just messing with you, Keith. It's all in good fun," Dravla assured him.

When Keith huffed, Lance reached out to pat his back, "Hey, it's okay," He ran his hand up and down his spine soothingly

No one could have ever expected the sensual gasp that slipped from Keith's mouth at the gesture.

A second later, Lance's fork fell from his hand, hitting the floor with a heavy clink.

Reeling back in surprise, Keith covered his mouth, face flaming a bright red.

Frozen with forks lifted up to their mouths, Tellru and Dravla gawked at him. "Uh…"

Lance's eyes were as wide as saucers. He whispers the question, "Keith?"

When he shivered, just at Lance's words, Keith stepped back.

"I-' he turned away from them, slouching a little, "I don't- something's wrong with me. I-Ignore that," he pleaded.

"K-Keith?" Lance asked him, concerned, "What is this? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing!" he tries to insist.

"You've been avoiding me all day, Keith! And then whatever _that_ was, it definitely wasn't nothing." Lance argues.

"Just forget it, Lance. I'll get through this on my own," Keith tried to flee from the room. Managing to snag his wrist before he could, Lance stopped him.

'Get through what Keith?!" Lance almost fell over when Keith turned around, his cheeks rosy and his eyes watery. His gaze snapped to Lance's hold on his wrist and the two stepped apart, breathing heavily.

"Ooh… " Dravla suddenly spoke up. Realizing something, he cringed, "The pastries,"

Keith looked at him, "What?"

"I thought it was odd you were avoiding Lance."

Could Lance point out just how annoying it was Dravla seemed to notice every little detail about them?

"Um- (Ruru? Why don't you and your friend Alba go get the deserts from the back freezer really quick? Give us some room to talk alone,)" she suggests.

Not quite sure why, Ruru shrugged and dragged Alba with her to the back, eyeing Lance and Keith as she passed.

Waiting till she was gone, Tellru sighed, "Okay, I'll explain this quick. Keith, this isn't your fault, or Lance's- it's the drug."

"What?" Lance demanded, still not even understanding what the problem was. "I thought you said the drug wouldn't be a problem after Keith- you know…" he trailed off.

"Yes, the normal effect of the drug. It is why it isn't recommended that you consume anything from the purple table till you are an equivalent," Tellru tells them, "Usually when one consumes the drug they spend a blissful night with their Equivalent. There is an after effect, however. I suppose I just didn't' assume Keith had it because he was human. You hide it very well,"

"An after effect?' Lance glanced at Keith, worried.

"It makes that person hypersensitive to the touch of their partner. Since you were the one who helped Keith through that situation... Your touch is very effective to him," Dravla grinned mischievously. "If you, as you say, catch my drift.'

Keith looked away, burying his face in his hands. So that is what was happening…

Lance wasn't sure what to say. What could he say?

Making sure he understood what Dravla said, he reached for Keith. He gasped when Lance brushed his finger along his wrist and closes his legs abruptly

"D-Don't!" he yelped, pulling back.

'Oh… Oohhhhhh," Lance stepped away. "S-So that's it…"

Keith hides his face, humiliated, "Don't look at me…"

"It's okay, Keith. This isn't your doing. Just- this will pass through time. After a few days the effect will wear off and you'll go back to normal," Tellru tells him gently. "You just need to push through till then,"

Keith gave her a look as if that request was impossible, but nods anyway. "Can we just finish dinner, please?" He sat down again, making sure to put quite a distance between Lance and him this time.

Lance couldn't stop staring, his face crimson the entire meal. He hadn't thought that had been why Keith was acting weird. It made him feel a little relieved, and he hoped Keith's confusion on his body had been the only reason for his cold shoulder.

When dinner was said and done, they returned to their apartment in silence.

Stepping in, Lance offered Keith some water, "So um… sorry about all this," he tells him. "I didn't realize that was what was happening. I should have noticed,"

Keith was grateful he didn't. Now that he knew what was going on, the whole day would have been ten times worse if he had known the facts behind it. "It's fine…"

"You only gotta push through a few days, right?" Lance says, taking off his jacket. Keith watches him, mesmerized by the fabric sliding off his shoulders.

"Yeah…," Keith mumbled. His mind was swimming with thoughts of that night- of Lance seeing him in a state like that. He had hoped once the drug was gone that would be the end of it, but now there was this after effect to deal with.

Could this get any worse?

It made him mad and frustrated. He didn't want things to go that way. Now Lance could hardly look him in the eye.

It was upsetting.

Gripping the fabric of his pants, Keith narrowed his eyes angrily at them. Lance and him had just started to make some progress too. He was _ready_ and now he just ruined their chances, didn't he?

He should have just told Lance what was going on from the very beginning instead of avoiding him like he had.

He was dumb enough to get drugged, had to have Lance do the work for him, and he- Lance didn't look at him at all when the job was said and done and they went to take that bath. Had Keith's body disgusted him or something? Maybe he was just trying to be considerate?

The thoughts made him anxious. They shot from one thought to another too fast for him to figure out what the correct thing to do was.

"Keith?" Lance must have sensed his distress and was looking at him. "What's wrong?"

Keith shifted away a little, his voice coming out in a broken whisper, "Nothing,"

"Hey… it's okay," Lance insists gently, his words too kind for Keith to bare.

"No, it isn't. That was the most embarrassing night of my life," he buried his face into his hands, mortified.

Lance fiddled with his jacket zipper, "...Was it? I'm- I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable. I can go…"

"I-" Keith glanced at him in a panic, "I'm not saying you- I just-" he looked away, blushing. Choosing his words carefully he says, " _You_ were great. It was just the situation- how it had to happen only because of some drug..."

Startled, Lance snapped his gaze upward. Hesitating, he licks his dry lips. Keith locks in on the motion then quickly looks away, "Then... say you hadn't been on the drug last night? Would you still have… done it? With me? Would you still have…" he trails off.

Keith gulps heavily, "I still would have enjoyed it," he admits, pushing past the tightening of his chest. After everything Lance had done for him, he deserved the truth- even if the words were heavy on his heart, "I would have let you do that..." The night had been hard. The first time had been nothing but overwhelming pain. His entire body had been engulfed in searing fire- like someone was ripping off his flesh one chunk at a time.

Endless torture that just worsened with each tough Lance put to his body.

The second time had been easier, but exhaustion seemed to strengthen the overall blow of it.

The third…

He had been so numb it was hard to say at first- so raw and blistering…

Lance's voice had guided him through it so well, his touch to his chest warm and had not expected the pleasure when it arrived.

He had not expected the pleasure when it arrived.

It had been so sudden, giving him no warning to prepare him. Lance had managed to hesitate enough through it to give Keith a chance to mention it but then…

It had been good.

So very good that Keith could still feel the tingles of that release down his spine.

"I wouldn't mind doing it again…" he admits quietly.

Keith felt some mix of triumph and embarrassment when Lance turned his head to avoid his gaze. His eyes were beautifully wide, dumbfounded yet pleased.

"Oh…" he lifts his hand to his mouth and smiles into it "So then you- uh…" he cuts off, 'You're okay though?"

"Yeah. This is all my fault for eating that stuff in the first place."

Lance suddenly snorts like something is funny.  
"What?" Keith frowned.

"I can't- you just-" laughter bubbles to the surface, "You know one day, if you have kids and are trying to warn them about drugs, you can tell them this story,"

"Shut up, Lance," Keith says, turning away from him. Forget everything he just said, Lance was a jerk.

"I'm just teasing," he cackles. "I'm glad you are okay, Keith." Lance brushed a hand through Keith's hair in a way that had his heart swelling.

When Lance smiles, Keith knows he means it. It's driving him mad, honestly.

The tingling going down his spine was something he couldn't ignore, warming his body in a horribly pleasing way.

When _something_ brushed against Lance's leg, Keith could see him got tense, covering his mouth, "Keith," he squeaks cautiously,

He already sounded mortified, "...What?"

"Are you-" Lance looked down. Keith desperately tried to hide himself, "Dude,"

"Shut up…"

"How are you- I'm not even doing anything. I'm just standing here," Lance tells him.

"Shut up!" he insists, turning to hide under the blanket on the bed.

Lance follows him, "Do I need to put on my jacket- like seriously? It is my back?"

"Stop talking!" Keith didn't want him to put his jacket back on. He didn't want Lance to do anything. But he also wanted Lance to do everything. It was complicated."Dude!" Lance attempts to pull off the blanket to see Keith's face, "We practically share a bed! I can't go to sleep knowing that you've got some boner!"

"Dude!" Lance attempts to pull off the blanket to see Keith's face, "We practically share a bed! I can't go to sleep knowing that you've got some boner!"

"I can't help it! That drug just- whatever you do- you could even just be standing there and it-" he groaned pitifully, "It _affects_ me." The worse thing about this was that a part of Keith knew it wasn't that simple. He could easily just play this whole thing off as some drug or side affect. Or that his whirlwind of thoughts, consumed by Lance's every action, was due to some other second factor- but that is a lie.

Lance was his own form of a drug in Keith's eyes.

Lance had been something else the night this all began. He had been gentle… patient… brilliant… and perfect… and beautiful… and possibly the best thing Keith had ever encountered in his life.

As the blanket is torn from his face, his eyes forced to meet Lance's, he chokes up, "You affect me…" he whispers.

Lance stares at him, mesmerized. When he finally chuckles, Keith wants to pull away to cover his embarrassment again,

"You are-You're too cute Keith." leaning in, Lance kissed him. Keith tensed, and he could feel it. Whatever this urge was, it was tipping over, consuming him."Lance-" he groaned.

"Lance-" he groaned.

It startled the blue paladin, and he froze up, "Oh… S-Sorry," Lance was ready to pull back, but the second he tried, Keith tugged him back in. He couldn't stop himself. He wanted this…

Kissing him roughly, he wrapped his legs around Lance's waist.

Lance grunted a little, his hands bracing against Keith's stomach. He could feel Keith's heated skin from below his shirt.

"Keith. This is a little- h-hold up-" he says frantically,

"Stop talking- god…" Keith curved his spine, gasping. "Kiss me…" he flips them, pressing Lance deep into the mattress"Y-You're… really wound up," Lance stammered, amazed and flustered. Stuck below Keith's arms, he squirmed nervously "We only kissed once…"

"Y-You're… really wound up," Lance stammered, amazed and flustered. Stuck below Keith's arms, he squirmed nervously "We only kissed once…"

"I-Is that a problem?" Keith grunted, clawing at the front of Lance's shirt for a decent grip. He leaned down, pressing his nose to the juncture of Lance's neck. Inhaling, he sighed dreamily. "You smell so god…"

"U-Um…" Lance shivers, "Keith can we- can we talk about this for a second? I'm not complaining b-but this is a little…"

Keith cut him off when he rolled his hips down into Lance's feverishly. Lance bit his bottom lip, gasping. He lifts his hands to grip Keith's arms, weakly trying to push him off.

"D-Dude-! You have a problem," he groaned when Keith's hips rammed into his again.

"What?" Keith seethed, "You're hard too!"

"Of course I am! You are grinding into me. Anyone would be in this situation- ahh, Keith… S-Slow down." He couldn't think with their waists sliding together like this

"Why?" Keith moaned and spread his legs shamelessly.

Lance almost broke apart. When Keith leaned into him to kiss him, Lance took that chance to flip them, pinning Keith down, "I said slow down…" He huffed, brushing off the sweat that had pooled on his brow. When Keith attempted to continue his previous motions, Lance had to reach down. Gripping Keith's thighs he yanked them upwards to stop his movements. "Keith," he commanded.

Keith yelped in surprised, eyes wide yet… lustful.

"B-but…Lance," he wiggled his legs a little, letting them hang loosely in the air. Lance had to stop himself from groaning at the sight. What was up with him today?

"You aren't thinking straight," Lance says, his voice wavering with his self-control.

"Yes I am. I'm not on that drug,"

"The side affects-"

"Aren't affecting my mind."

"You liar. You just they were affecting you or whatever a little bit ago. They are affecting how your body reacts. That still can mess with a person's mind. You don't think straight sometimes when you're turned on. You are- Jeez, you are really hard," he gulped, lifting Keith's legs enough to get a beautiful and very arousing view of the man below him.

"Then- do something," Keith bit his lower lip. He fidgeted under Lance's gaze, cheeks red with need.

Lance groaned, "Believe me I want to… b-but I can't,"

"Why?" Keith whined. He whined. This paladin was going to kill him, Lance just knew it.

"If I start with you I may not stop," he warns, his voice cracking.

"You've already- you've done a lot already, Lance." Keith says.

"You needed help," Lance corrects. "That drug could have seriously hurt you. I didn't go past just touching you, Keith."

"Who says you can't touch me now?" He purred

"Yeah see this, this is why I think you aren't fully in the right state of mind right now," Lance points out bluntly.

"I know what I want, Lance… I've known for a while." with a very adorable pout, he looked up at the blue paladin with earnest eyes, "I want you…"

Lance trembled at the urge pulling at his mind. His fingers shook, his breathing short and raspy.

"Keith…"

"And I think-" Keith's hand slide across the sheets, weakly brushing his knees affectionately. "You want me too," Keith glanced between them, between Lance's legs.

"...Of course I do," Lance choked. "But... " Bending Keith's knees, he leaned forward, feeling like his mind and heart were being split in two. "Course I do," he stopped before their lips could touch, cursing the world with all his might, "Do you even know what you do to me, Keith?" he sobbed. All he could think about for days was Keith's eyes- his lips- his hair. "The things I want to do to you…"

"I won't know unless you show me, Lance," Keith cups his face, painting his face with small kisses. They were warm and loving and Lance was melting.

But…

How could he know this was what Keith truly wanted? Any touch from Lance supposedly drives Keith's crazy, via the side affects. So how could he assure that Keith truly wanted this until the affects were gone?

He wanted Keith to-

He wanted Keith to want him and love him for him. No drugs. No pressure from others. No expectation to do it.

He wanted it to be real.

"I can't go any further Keith…" he concludes

"I'm saying okay,"

"I want to believe you," he admits, "But your body is only reacting this way because of the drug."

"No-"

"Yes. Dravla even said so. You can't help it, Keith," he brushed his thumbs against Keith's chin. "But you need to listen to me- you don't want to do anything you will regret. Doing something because of a drug… you'll definitely regret that later. Once this all passes you'll see what I mean."

"I don't understand!" Keith yelled in frustration, "I thought you… wanted this too?" he demanded brokenly.

"I do!' Lance says, "God Keith- of course I do! You don't even know how much I've wanted this! How much I want you. C-Cause I do, Keith. I want you so much that I lose sleep to thoughts about you," he startled Keith when he cupped his face, "All I can think about is you sometimes. N-Not a day goes by that I don't think about this- about being with you,"

"..." Keith swallowed thickly, a bright blush spreading over his face. "I won't regret it with you…"

"Maybe not- but there is still a chance."

"No with you!"

"Even with me! Because of this stupid drug! You can't give proper consent if you are on a drug, Keith!"

"I'm not on that stupid drug anymore!"

"But this is the after affect of it! Why don't you get that? You aren't really meaning this, meaning you aren't really agreeing!"

"What the hell, Lance! What is with you and this stupid consent thing! How many times do I have to say I want you for you to get it!?"

"You don't want me!"

"Yes, I do! I just told you I did! I've told you multiple times now!"

"Keith, just stop it! No, you don't! I-I mean maybe you do- but not right now! Not truly!" Lance felt on the verge of tears,

Keith was reaching for him, cupping Lance's face, desperate but angry, "I do, Lance! You have to believe me, I do!"

Lance tries to pull away, refusing to let Keith be sweet to him. Refusing to let him draw him into this when there was a chance Keith could change his mind later. "I can't with this drug, Keith…"

"I wanted this before the drug! Why can't you believe me?" Keith demands as Lance tears from his hold, hot tears pooling in his eyes.

"Because I was exactly in the position you are and I wasn't given a choice Keith!"

The silence that followed was crushing.

The color in Keith's face drained away, and his mouth falling open in a stilled shocked, "…W-What?"

Lance covered his mouth, horrified in himself for bringing the subject up. When Keith's eyes darkening, he scrambled from the bed,

"Lance…" he follows him, his tone thick. "What did you mean by that?"

Lance turned to make a break for it, "N-Nothing-!"

Keith scrambled to follow, grabbing his wrist before Lance could reach the door. "Lance!" he says again, tugging him back "Lance, look at me," he fought against him when he tried to pull away. "Lance, talk to me!"

Lance's shoulder shake with rage and fear- the two emotions mixing horribly as tears sting his eyes, "Forget it…" he croaked.

"No. No, tell me what you meant," Keith grabs his hands and holds him there, "What happened? You mentioned a party before. Lance, what happened at it? Did someone hurt you?" he was wild for answers, scanning over Lance's body as if he would still be able to see some invisible scar.

Lance looks everywhere but at Keith, eyes shooting from one side of the room to the other in rapid glances. "Nothing…"

"You're crying," Keith whispers, pained at the sight, "It's not nothing,"

"Shut up," Lance sobs, tugging one of his arms out of Keith's grip to rub away the tears, "I don't want to hear any of this from a guy who has some weird boner for me right now!"

"I can't control that!"

"Exactly! And you wondered why I kept saying you _weren't in control_ a few seconds ago!"

Keith opened and closed his mouth, his shoulder's slowly sagging, "Okay," he breaths, "Okay you're right. We should definitely hold off on… stuff. But Lance, I want to know what you were talking about before. The party… Lance, what happened to you at that party? What really happened? You can trust me,"

"I... I know I can,"

"Then tell me," He took Lance back to the bed and sat him down. Taking a few minutes to just breath, Keith rubbed his back soothingly.

The pleading look in Keith's eyes was hard for Lance to say no to. And, to be honest, Lance wanted to tell him this. He wanted to trust someone with this and to him, Keith was the best choice.

"Okay…" Sniffing, collecting himself, Lance begins, "I went to a party with Hunk a year or two ago. A lot of other Garrison kids were there. It was just a regular party, and it was fun. I got to talk to a lot of people and had a few drinks."

"Alcohol?" Keith frowns.

"It was punch but- there was something in it. I only noticed it after a few drinks. By then it was a little too late to think straight. Then there was this guy. He was really friendly and talked to me a lot. He was interested in what I had to say and I liked that…" Lance sighs, "I'm not a virgin Keith, obviously but I don't really know what the hell I'm doing. I mean, obviously I know more than you- I've done it at least twice. The second time I'm not sure if you could really count since we didn't do much, so scratch that… but I don't actually fully… remember the first time," he sighs. "Things are hazy about that night. I remember some kissing and a few different moments…. He acted so sweet about it at first, but once we went up to one of the rooms on the second floor he-" Lance inhales sharply, "I remember him forcing me down- I think he moved a little too fast and I was getting scared."

Keith gripped his hand a second later, jaw set, quiet anger burning in his eyes.

"He was rough…It hurt. Then I woke up sore and a few bruises here and there. It hurt so much just to walk, for weeks and I even had to go get a check up with my doctor. That sure was awkward, but I'm glad I went." He pauses, taking a moment to just breath, "The guy was gone and I don't even remember his name. Just his face." Lance lowers his tone. His lower lip trembles a bit and he says weakly, "Sorry…"

"Why are you apologizing?" Keith wondered.

He shrugs, "I dunno. I just-" Lance sniffed, "I'm sorry."

"Stop. Don't apologize, Lance. Don't ever apologize for that. You did nothing wrong."

Brushing the tears from his face, Lance says, "You don't understand how much I hated him… how much I hated myself for letting it happen. I can't- If you felt even something close to that Keith, I'd hate myself so much more,"

"Lance," Keith takes his face into his hands, "I-I'm so sorry. I didn't know. You were just trying to make sure I didn't get hurt and I was-"

"It isn't your fault about the drug or its side effects either, Keith," Lance leans into his touch, "I understand. I really do. So it is okay. I just don't want anything bad to come between us."

"Nothing will," Keith tells him, sounding so sure of himself.

Lifting his head to smile, Lance nods. "So… I won't do anything until this side affect is gone. I'll kiss you like always- but I'm not going further than that. Despite how much I want to, I want to do things right by you."

Keith stared at him in amazement, "...Oh. O-Okay," he agrees,

"Thank you," Lance averted his gaze for a moment and then said, "I don't want to rush this- us. I want to take you out, Keith. On dates like last time…" he red in his cheeks couldn't grow brighter,

"Dates?"

"Would you?" Lance inquired shyly, "Go on a date with me, I mean,"

Keith takes only a second to register Lance words before his eyes widened, "Yes!" he practically screams, "I uh- yes…" he says a little softer, "Yes, I will."

Smiling brighter than he had all day, Lance chuckles, "Awesome. Then, tomorrow? No wait, two days from now! I gotta prepare."

"Prepare?"

"Yeah. Like I said, I want to do things right by you. Meaning it's gotta be perfect."

Keith can't help the little bubble of excitement turning his heart over. "Okay." He agrees, "Two days then." Lance promises.

The time couldn't pass fast enough.

* * *

 **UPDATE: (ADDED THE REVIEW REPLIES)**

 **Devil wolf girl:** Thank you! Sleepy Keith is the best keith!

 **Pinkdoughtnuts:** I can't help it! I love to be a tease! XD Thank you though!

 **Guest:** yes, we have finally reached the next level of Burn! :D

 **Guest:** I am such a tease. But Lance would never force Keith into anything, so the burn must continue!

 **AngiMk:** Thank you so much!

 **Zaffrebat17:** Yeah :( The poor guy


	23. A night to remember

Keith wasn't anxious.

No.

He was just fidgety with how slow time seemed to go by, that was all. What was worse, he wasn't able to sleep last night. You could completely blame it on the side effect on the drug and it was definitely not because he was excited for Lance and his date tomorrow. Definitely not that.

"Hey," Lance's hand grazes his wrist, startling him "Look at this," he lifts up a strange looking bug that was sitting on his finger. Keith pretends to be interested in it, taking the chance to admire Lance's face as he leaned in.

He watches Lance's long eye lashes bat against smooth cheeks then trails his eyes down to the the soft plumpness of his lips-

"It's cute," Lance mouth moves and Keith feels paralyzed at the utter beauty of this boy before him. Blinking a few times, he nods in agreement, stepping back.

They were picking Ruru up from school, or her educational facility as Dravla calls it. Coeihn children were spilling out of the building, laughing and running off to enjoy the rest of their afternoon. When Ruru approached them, she was surrounded by a little group, all smiling and talking to her. She had really come far from when they first met her, and had begun to make friends easily, despite her leg braces.

"Lala! Keef!' she waves to them, running to hug them both.

Lance greets her with a hug, asking about her day then waving at her friend, "Hey, Alba,"

"...Holle," the small Coeihn boy waves back

("Alba, no! Hello! It's hello!") Ruru tells him, (But you were so close! Soooo close!)"

Blushing a little, Alba steps behind his other friends, two Coeihns that Lance and Keith had yet to meet. The two of them were blinking at Keith and Lance curiously.

"This is Zeeva and Lomi," Ruru tells them. The two seemed to be close, holding each other's hands and pressed against the other tightly.

"Hi kids," Lance gushes at them. They blink at him, then glance at each other. Smiling and bumping their foreheads together, they step back.

"Elmo!' they wave

Ruru slaps her forehead, ("Noooo! I told you! It's Hello! Not Elmo. Not Holle. Not Hola")

"Hola," Lance says only understanding that word from Ruru. Ruru pauses to look at him, confused. Deciding it would be best not to bring Spanish into this, Lance pretends to be joking.

"We should be off, Ruru,"

Waving goodbye to Ruru's friends, they return to the house for the rest of the day. Lance acted like nothing was different, joking and laughing, almost mocking Keith's breaking mentality.

He was going nuts.

All he could think about was tomorrow.

The date.

What in the world was Lance even planning to do? He said he wanted a day to prepare, but Lance hadn't done anything about it since they agreed. If he wasn't going to put any preparation into the date they should just have it now.

Or perhaps he was being impatient? Keith always hated waiting.

He just never thought he would be this thrilled to go on a date before. It isn't like he hasn't gone on a date with Lance before. He went with him to that equivalent bond festival and spent the whole day with him then.

But that was an out of the blue date where neither of them had much time to prepare. Lance acted as if he was going to do something worth wild with this next one, so you couldn't blame Keith for getting excited, right?

Letting that topic torment his every thought, he trudged his way through the day till it was finally time to return back to the apartment and go to sleep.

He tried to act casual as Lance readied for bed. He was humming, without a care in the world. "So um…" Keith slipped under the covers, watching him cautiously, "Tomorrow…" he trails off. When Lance doesn't say anything to rebuttal, he tucks himself deeper into the sheets, "Good night," he says, nervous, and waiting for something- anything- to happen.

"I'll woo you," Lance promises him, sitting down on the bed,

"Huh?"

"During the date. I'll sweep you right off your feet, Keith," He looks so positive in this, so determined and convinced to make that promise a reality- it sends Keith staggering. "So sleep tight," Lance hums, kissing his forehead before rolling over to the other side of the bed. Letting the feeling linger, Keith snuggles into his blanket, staring at Lance's back.

Nothing today.

But tomorrow…

Tomorrow, Keith assures himself.

He closes his eyes, attempting to will himself to sleep. Tomorrow was the date. Just go to sleep and tomorrow will be here already.

That was easier said than done.

Through a great mental battle and exhaustion from having gotten little sleep the previous night, Keith eventually met with slumber.

When he awoke, Lance was gone.

Keith called his name as he sat up, but his voice only echoed. "Hey…. Lance?" he tries again. Feeling his heart drop to the pits of his stomach, he moved to get up and go looking for him, worried that perhaps something bad had happened or Lance had backed out of the date.

He wasn't sure what was better or worse.

Moving the blanket from his legs, Keith paused at how the sheets felt slightly heavier than usual. Looking down, his breath caught in his throat.

Petals.

Flower petals covered their bed

Not sure what was happening, or how Lance managed to pull this off without waking him up, he peeked over the side of the mattress to find that these mysterious petals covered their entire floor. This obviously has to be Lance's doing, right?

Getting up, Keith tossed on his jacket and shoes and followed the trail to the door.

A small note was taped to it.

"Dear Keith, I hope you don't mind the petals, but I made you a promise. I'm going to woo you off your feet, Kogane, so you better be prepared. I have a request for you first. I need you to follow the petals. And don't laugh, cause I worked hard on those lines."

Not sure what that meant, Keith plucked the note off and opened the door. The flower petals lead out the door and down the hall. He follows them obediently, his skin prickled with excitement.

A little ways down, right before the petals turned down the second hall, there was another note.

"Are you a camera? Because every time I look at you, I smile." You got the best smile in the whole galaxy, Keith. Oh, and just so there isn't any confusion, cause I know you Keith, and sometimes you can get pretty oblivious; I'm hitting on you right now.

Keith kept walking, his legs feeling weak. He was mesmerized by the note till a third one came in front of him, smacking him in the face.

It was almost as if Lance knew Keith would get dazed from the second note and strategically planned the third one to be hanging from the ceiling so Keith was forced to run into it- making sure it caught his attention.

"You look so familiar... didn't we take a class together? I could've sworn we had chemistry." And just so you know, since you seem to have forgotten, we did indeed have a chemistry class together. I guess it must have been fate~

Keith was floundering, his vision almost blurry. It was too early in the morning for something as amazing as this. He wasn't prepared.

Leaning against the wall, he took a moment to re-read the three little notes, absorbing each word one by one and holding them safely to his chest. When he finally found the courage to keep going, finding himself rounding each floor of this apartment building, apparently heading up to the roof, he found a few more notes.

"Sweetheart, your beauty makes the morning sun look like the dull glimmer of the moon," Everyone here calls you exquisite- you know, because of your hair and skin. Like snow white or something… They are spot on Keith. You're beautiful.

Taking each note with him, feeling protective of them, Keith gasps for air as he climbs the last flight of steps to the roof. At the door to it, there is one last note.

"Let me tie your shoes, cause I don't want you falling for anyone else," Keith, you are probably the only person in this whole galaxy that I can confidently say I would want to become equivalents with."

Swinging open the door, Keith stepped out. Lance was waiting for him at the top.

He turns at the sound of the door opening and welcomes Keith with a smile. His eyes are shining, his hair neatly brushed and his shirt skin tight, hugging his chest pleasingly, "Morning, sweetheart,"

Keith steps towards him, takes his face into his hands and kisses him.

Lance takes only a second to respond, smiling against Keith's lips.

"I take it you liked the notes?" he inquires as they step away. When Keith doesn't answer right away, Lance grows a little nervous.

"I loved them," Keith chokes out, burying his face into Lance's neck. No one had ever put that much time into anything to give Keith. It was a little overwhelming.

Patting his back, Lance sighs in relief, "Oh. good. Well, it isn't over yet." he brings a box into Keith's hands, "Put that on and then go downstairs,"

Confused, Keith takes the box, "What is it?"

"Tellru made it," Lance winks, stepping back. Keith scrambles to grab his arm, unable to handle Lance leaving now, of all times. Not when Keith was so infatuated.

The date was finally here and in his grasp- Lance finally in his grasp. There is no way he could just let him go now.

"You're leaving already?" he gasps at him. Lance looks startled, not sure what to say at first, then grinned.

"Well, I was gonna give you time to change… unless you want me to help you," his finger poked at Keith's stomach, sliding up slowly to the collar of Keith's shirt, where Lance proceeded to give it a teasing tug.

Flushing at the suggestion, Keith reluctantly releases Lance's sleeve.

"I'm fine."

"Then I will see you on the bottom floor," Lance pecks his forehead with a kiss and runs off the roof, booking it down the stairs like a mad man on a mission.

Feeling a longing to see Lance just as soon as he disappeared, Keith rushes to get dressed. He barely looks at the outfit before throwing it on. It's soft, and kind of loose, making it feel kind of casual. Fancy casual, or something like that.

Running after Lance, carefully folding the notes in his pocket, Keith is surprised to find Tellru waiting for him on the bottom floor.

"Tellru?"

"Hello, Keith," she gushes, "I'm here to pick you up,"

"Pick me up?" he looks around for Lance, but can't find him. Taking a moment to notice Tellru is hiding something behind her back, he frowns suspiciously, "Does he have you involved with this?" he asks, wondering if Lance had gotten help to pull all of this off.

Instead of answering, Tellru chuckles and bends down, holding something out to him.

Red.

And not the color- no, it was a large stuffed animal in the shape of the Red Lion of Voltron.

"How did he-?" Keith takes it without much thought, examining it. Something about it seemed a little rushed, and kind of messy, some stitches better than others. The front of the leg were huge compared to the rest of its body, but Keith didn't mind it. In fact, he actually felt very fond of the little creation.

"Lance made it," Tellru announces, "He asked me to show him."

It was only now that Keith recalled the day before. Many times throughout the day, Ruru or Dravla would distract him for a few hours, dragging him places or taking something of his that would force him to hunt the two down.

He hadn't even thought that this had been a tactic to distract him as Lance planned for the date.

"For how little time we had, I'm surprised how well it turned out," Tellru chuckles, "Come this way,"

He follows her, confused and pressing the large red doll close to his chest. It was big enough to snuggle with if he chose to.

"So um… where are we going?" he asked her.

"Surprise~"

Not sure if he trusted her with this, Keith followed quietly. After a while, the farther they got, the more nervous he began to feel.

He plucked anxiously at the collar of his shirt as they walked. It felt tight, choking him as Tellru lead him to this mysterious meeting spot. Was he under dressed? Lance picked the outfit so probably not. Did he look okay? His hair felt messed up, his posture was probably terrible- he couldn't do this.

He was going to mess this up!

They were complete opposites, if Keith had to be honest. He was stoic, quick-tempered, and awkward to others, while Lance… Lance, was perfect. Outgoing, great with people, patient when it was needed but willing to go the lengths to get a laugh from someone if times were tough… even if it was at his own expense.

This self-conscious doubt was feeding Keith's mind with dark thoughts- forcing him to question what Lance saw in him.

"Tellru," his voice comes out crackly.

She glances over her shoulder, "Yes?"

"How do I look?" he motions down to himself, staring at his feet as they walked.

"You look wonderful, Keith," Tellru assures him kindly, patting his head. She pauses, then flattens out a certain spot. Like a mother getting her child ready for picture day, she brushes some bangs out of his face, changes her mind, then put them back, just to change her mind again. They end up pausing along the street for a while, fussing over Keith's attire.

"Maybe we should comb it back?" she mutters, messing with his hair.

"Would that look okay?" Keith questions her.

She takes a moment to try it, combing it back with her hand. Taking a step back to examine him, she hums in thought, "Maybe….?"

"Tellru, I'm running out of time. Lance is going to see me and he might- I want to look-" he cuts off, messing his hair back into it's usual place. "I don't want to mess this up," he whispers.

"You won't," his friend muses, "Lance likes you for you, Keith. Just be yourself."

Keith lowers his gaze and nods. Be himself. Just be himself.

"I'm kind of... boring," He tells her.

She quirks an eyebrow, "Really? I definitely wouldn't say you are," she chuckles, pulling something from her pocket. "Here," taking his hair, she tied it to the side, giving it a slight design, "Now, come along and stop fussing," she instructs.

Following her along the buildings, Keith was taken down the street where Ruru met them at the end of the block.

"Ruru?" he asks her. She hands Keith a batch of hand made cookies that were placed in a little baggie. Lance and her had made them together.

"How many people did he get involved with this?" Keith questions despite how happy he is to receive the gift.

"Like we wouldn't get involved with this," Tellru snorts, "Come on." Ruru and Tellru both lead him to another area, saying nothing but giving him little smiles. It makes him blush and stare at his feet to avoid their giggling.

When they arrived, Dravla is standing there, grinning like there is no tomorrow, "Keith," he greets, holding something out to him. Realizing it's a bouquet of flowers, Keith maneuvers a way to carry all the gifts at once.

"Where is Lance?" he asks. The three Coeihns smile at each other than step to the side to reveal the blue paladin, standing on the steps of the fountain. A Coeihn band stands below him and begin to strum a song.

"Keith!" Lance waves to him, "You seemed to like the last time I sang, so I hope you don't mind- but I got a little number planned for you~"

"What?"

Winking at him, Lance clears his throat and begins to sing. It echoes, like a chiming bell. He isn't singing in English, but instead his mother tongue; Spanish. Keith doesn't understand a single word, but that is okay. Because the sound of the words, the look in Lance's eyes, and the pounding of his own heart is enough to make Keith feel like he's falling.

"Oh my god…" Keith doesn't know if he should hide under a rock from embarrassment or cry.

Lance is moving around the fountain in elegant strides, his new outfit hugging his form in all the right ways. His hair is combed back, his glasses making his eyes shine, and he couldn't be smiling wide enough.

Keith wondered if he somehow wandered into some sort of romance novel? There is no way that this was really happening.

Keith was honestly waiting for the moment he would wake up from this perfect dream. When he didn't, he knees almost buckled and Lance steps away from the fountain.

Swooping Keith into his arms, still singing a gentle melody, he swayed them back and forth, like a dance.

Caught up in his eyes, Keith didn't realize when Lance had stopped singing, barely managing to gasp before Lance dipped him, following after him to share a passionate kiss.

He faintly hears their friendly little Coeihn family whooping and cheering in the background. It's white noise with Lance's lips upon his...

Pulling them up for air, Lance smiles sheepishly. Keith makes incoherent noises, too flabbergasted. "W-Wha…"

Lance takes pride in Keith's reaction and kisses his cheek. "We're not done yet." He tells him, stepping back then moving to run off again.

Keith snags his wrist, "You're leaving again?" he gapes at him. "No…"

Lance sneaks attacks him when he grips his jaw between his slender fingers and lifts his chin. With a kiss that didn't last nearly as long as Keith wanted, Lance stepped back to smirk.

"Can't get enough of me, huh?"

Stammering to fight a blush, Keith frowns at him, falling directly into Lance's trap, "McClaine!" he bellows

"Just follow Tellru," Lance laughs as he backs up, "It'll be worth it," he assures, turning to run down the road. Watching him go, not sure what else he could do, he sighs and turns to Tellru.

Dravla and Ruru have vanished at this point, leaving just the two of them.  
"Where are we going now?" he asks.

"We gotta give him a head start," Tellru says, forcing them to wait near the fountain for a few agonizingly slow couple of minutes. Tapping his foot impatiently, Keith turns to her.

"Now?"

"No."  
"...How about now?"  
"No,"

He grits his teeth, wanting to pull out his own hair, "Now?"

"You are so impatient today," she chuckles, "I think Lance was right, you just can't get enough of him."

It didn't take a genius to notice that, but Keith wasn't just going to anytime soon, "Shut up," he mumbles, looking away. Chuckling, she pats his shoulder.

"We can go now."

"Finally," he hopes to his feet.

Tellru chuckles at him.

* * *

0000-000

They arrive in a small little building a few minutes later. It seems almost abandoned, but there were lights on inside. "Lance specially requested this for the night, so you two shouldn't be disturbed," Tellru takes the gift's Lance had given him, swearing to watch over them for Keith till he was done. Not too willing to part with them, but nodding reluctantly, he follows her around the back.

"He told me to bring you here," Tellru steps to the side, extending out her arm. Following the direction she motioned too, Keith held his breath.

The area was small, and outdoors, but had been decorated it blossoming flowers and small candles that lit the plato in a gentle light. Like a path, the candles lead him to a table,

Keith didn't know how to be romantic, but Lance seemed to excel at it- lathering on the affection, the praises, the small gifts. It was driving Keith crazy, and he legitly thought his heart was going to explode.

Standing awkwardly in front of the table, not sure if he should sit down or not, Keith tenses when two arms wrapped around his torso from behind. "Hello, sweetheart," Lance husks against the back of his neck. Keith was a puddle in his hands.

"H-Hey…"

It was breath taking how instantaneously the choking anxiety vanished- amazing how suddenly the feeling of serenity washed over him - even before they could sit down - as soon as he heard Lance's voice, Keith was calm.

"You're beautiful," Lance pulled out the chair for him. As Keith steps around him to sit down, Lance takes his hand. Lance presses a kiss to the back of it in a smooth elegant bow that makes Keith blush all over again.

His chest was on fire.

It was cheesy. Corny with a capital C, with that Lance flare you knew he was going to bring… and Keith loved every second of it it.

He never thought he would enjoy romantic dinner dates like this and the affection he felt for it, for Lance, was startling.

"Did you plan all of this?" Keith inquired slowly, knowing he was smiling too much, but finding it impossible to stop.

"I told you I wanted this to be perfect," Lance winks at him, "And I plan to keep up on that," reaching across the table, he takes Keith's hand into his own,

It's only then that Keith notices Lance's equivalent band. Lance had moved it from the necklace around his neck, to his finger. The sight of it made his throat go dry, and his heart sputter.

"You hungry?"

Keith barely heard him, "H-Huh?" he inquires, mesmerized.

Lance smiles, "Are you hungry?" he repeats.

"...Yeah,"

With a nod, Lance glances to his right. From the door, someone stepped out in a little waiter's outfit

"I serve," None other than Ruru moved towards their table, "What want?"

Keith snorted into his palm, "Ruru? What are you doing here?"

"Work," she taps her little clipboard, and hands them hand drawn menus. Lance seems to have quickly scribbled down the English translation to the food before Keith arrived.

Scanning it over, Keith asks for something simple. Lance said something similar and Ruru ran off, back into where Keith assumed the kitchen was. It was most likely Dravla or Tellru making the food, since they were usually the ones to do so since they arrived here on this planet.

"Keith," Lance catches his attention. When he looks at him, the blue paladin extends out a bouquet of red flowers.

Taking them, Keith takes a moment to smell them, clutching them close to his chest, "'You didn't have to do all of this, Lance," he tells him quietly, hiding his smile behind the petals

"I disagree," Lance winks, "So let me pamper you for a bit,"  
Keith can't come up with anything more than, "Okay," he taps his fingers nervously to the table. "S-So um… This looks amazing," he motions around.

Lance smiles proudly, "Thank you. My Mom was always into candles and said they were the best when it comes to trying to be romantic." he glances at Keith cautiously, daring a response "What do you think? Does this seem romantic?"

Keith nods too quickly, embarrassed and staggering through this. After that, everything feels like flirtation.

Keith is positive he is horrible when it comes to consciously flirting, but that doesn't matter, because Lance makes up for the both of them. He talks and talks, lathering on praises and taking each chance he could to not so subtly tell Keith he was stunning.

Keith's heart is beating too fast, throbbing in his chest. He can hardly speak, forcing himself to say something every few minutes. He want to compliment Lance and tell him how charming he looks in this lighting. How soft his skin is, or mesmerizing his eyes could draw him in.

He falters and ends up making some odd and very nervous sounding laughter. Lance's eyes fill with affection, his smile curling along his lips. Keith gazes lowers to watch the action, drawn to Lance's mouth then snapping back up to remind himself to breath.

At some point, Keith can feel Lance's foot nudging against his own underneath the table. There was a term to refer to this action. Something about feet, but Keith couldn't recall! It was suppose to be flirting when you bumped feet.

Footsy or something!

He knows he should do it back, but Lance's foot brushing over his ankle is making him shiver.

Sweet Parlog… he could die happy by the end of tonight.

"You okay there, Keith?" Lance inquires, smirking slightly at Keith's flustered face.

"F-Fine," he nods.

Lance smiles.

Yup. Keith could die happy. He could leave this world with just the memories of this night and that would be enough for him.

And the way Lance talks to him with an unwavering smile, his attention never leaving Keith's face. It dazzling.

He speaks of why he wanted to be a pilot, how much Shiro had inspired him back in Garrison. He tells Keith that he always thought Keith's sense of flying was almost poetic- like Keith was dancing in the skies.

Keith inhales, "I don't- I don't know what to say," he admits to him.

"It's okay," Lance tells him, "I'm just kind of saying whatever comes to mind. You can do the same. Whatever it is, I want to hear it."  
Keith takes him up on that, apologizing that he can't remember much of Lance from their Garrison days. "I can't remember too many people, honestly. Shiro was the only person I really talked to. I don't even remember most of the teacher's name,"  
"It's fine," Lance looks almost shocked with himself for accepting this, "I mean, at first I was kind of upset you didn't, but it doesn't really matter now."

"You were upset?"  
"You were always the best in the class. I was-" Lance makes a cringing noise, "I was jealous," he admits quietly, "I didn't really know you then and just kind of assumed you were stuck up with how you didn't talk to anyone. I assumed you thought you were better than everyone else there. I know now that wasn't the case,"

Keith raised his eyebrow, curious, "Oh?"

"Yeah. You were probably just too awkward to start a conversation with anyway," he openly teased, smirking slyly. Keith almost reaches over to hit him, but Lance honestly wasn't that far off. Keith didn't know how to speak to others so he just didn't.

It was easier that way, and it left him in a bubble that he felt comfortable with. The bubble never usually betrayed him- till this evening.

Now he wanted nothing more than to pop it and offer as much conversation as Lance was pushing for- but the bubble was persistent. His mind would run blank, his attention falling on Lance's face too often and his mind getting swept up by sweet words.

"You might be right," he exhaled steadily.

"I know I'm right," Lance tilts his head and grins from ear to ear, like he's gotten Keith all figured out and is just so proud of that. "You may try to hide it Keith, but you are pretty open person once someone gets to know you."

"Am I?"

"Yeah. It's pretty amazing though, so don't think less of yourself about that. It's nice that you are so open and honest."

Keith lowers his gaze, nodding meekly, "Oh. Thank you,"

At some point, Ruru brought them bread, but Keith was too caught up in Lance's story to notice. He eventually remembers to eat when Lance stops his story to grab some of the bread. They share a pause to simple chew.

Keith didn't dare try to speak with his mouth full. Usually he never cared if he did, but he was feeling self conscious with Lance right in front of him.

"Hey," Lance says.  
Keith is mid chew and freezes up. Embarrassed, he lifts a hand to cover his mouth, "What?"

Lance chuckles a little, "First, you're adorable. Second, want some entertainment?"

Keith chokes a little, "...W-What sort?" he is glad his palm is up to his face to hid the red in his cheeks.

Instead of answering, Lance claps his hands. From the roof above, something comes crashing down.

"Hey there." Dravla stands up and waves at them. Keith chokes a little on his food. "I'm your entertainment for today," he pulls out two spears, each covered it wet cloth at the end. Placing them to the fire, the ends of the spears set aflame and Dravla began to twirl them like some expert fire dancer.

"Though I don't really see how people find this entertaining…" he shrugs casually, flipping them. "Lance insists that this is, cool,"

"It is," Lance agrees

"But it's hot."

"It's cool as in it's awesome," Lance chides.

Instead of pointing out how nothing about that made sense to him, Dravla decides to let it be and steps back to toss the spears and catch them.

Lance cheers. Dravla approves slightly. Spinning the spears a few more times, he blows them out before flipping out of the room. Slipping at the last flip he lands flat on his face and practically slides back into the house. A crash followed, followed by a few curses, covered up by childish remarks about ice cream, so Ruru wouldn't hear them.

"Well- you came through on entertainment," Keith snorts.

"That is only the beginning."

Keith wasn't sure he could handle more.

Lance was so much more than he had expected when first meeting him. He was more than just a delicious body and a smile that came out of nowhere to light up the darkness of this hopeless galaxy.

He was…

Keith didn't even know how to describe him. Any description would fall short. He could praises him to the ends of time, and it still wouldn't be enough.

When Lance's hand slide across the table, quietly taking Keith's palm, their gazes lock.

Holding his breath, Keith blinked at him curiously, "What?" he inquires after the prolonged silence.

"You gotta be honest," Lance says, anxious, "You enjoying this?"

"I love it," Keith states the answer before his mind can even register his response. Lance's smile was breathtaking.

"Me too," he brushes his thumbs along Keith's knuckles, bending his back a little to kiss the top of them.

Not sure what else to talk about, too nervous to think about anything, Keith is thrilled when a topic comes to his mind, "I've never really gone out to eat too much like this before," he admits, "Back with my Dad, he usually made dinner, so we stayed at home, and then I just made whatever for myself."  
"You a good cook?"

"I get by,"

"I can make cereal- that's it,"

"To some, that still might be considered impressive," Keith offers him. He feels prideful when Lance chuckles, titling his head to grin a little. "Nothing compares to my Dad's cooking though. He had a way with spices. He taught me everything I know,"

"Even how to pilot?"

"More or less. Shiro taught me a little more. My Dad showed me how to survive. How to hunt, cook, clean and build. He was great…" Keith smiles to himself, nostalgic, "He liked to greet me a lot, too,"

"Greet you?" Lance inquires.

"Every time I ran in he would say "welcome home" even if I was only gone for a few minutes…" Keith chuckled a little, "I always loved that."

Lance listens with a little smile, watching the way Keith talked- the way his eyes would shine.

"I like when you talk about your Dad," Lance admits to him, "He sounds a lot like you,"

"Really?" Keith asks, "I guess I kind of looked like him… a little. He always says I took more after my Mom with my temper and stuff. My Dad was always sticking up for the little guy more. Doing what was right."'

'You do that," Lance tells him, startling him. "You are quick to pull out your Bayard, yeah, but for the right reasons. I mean, you are the only one who never doubted their choice as a paladin. Most everyone else wanted to go home, just because being a paladin was such a big responsibility, except for you. Shiro did it I think because he knew what the Galra did, and he didn't want anyone to go through what he did. You did it without any questions. You were told you would be protecting others and taking down this big evil, and you accepted it." Lance looks at their hands, "I always respected that about you,"

"You did?" Keith asks, his voice quiet.

With a nod, Lance smiles, "You stand up for the little guy. You're definitely a lot like your dad,"

Taking in his words, not expecting them to mean so much to him, Keith smiles, "Thank you, Lance."

They talked about their families, then what they had planned on doing after Garrison- despite knowing that wouldn't be a thing now that they were paladins. Keith talked about how his life had changed after being kicked out, and how it wasn't as hard as he thought to live on his own. After a while he just go used to it.

The tough part was not being able to talk to Shiro. Keith had never needed too many people in his life, but Shiro was usually the only one who stuck around. Having him gone was hard, and he missed him a lot.

He was so happy when Shiro crashed down in that Galra escape pod.

When their food arrived, Lance mewled over his dish, "So good," he cooes. Keith is curious to what he got, thinking that it kind of looked like pasta. Sensing his curiosity, Lance twirled some within his fork then extended his arm across the table.

Like those older couple Keith had often seen on Earth, who would cutely hand feed the other, he shyly opens his mouth. Taking a bit of the food, seeing Lance eyed him quizzically for his opinion, he smiles, "It's good."

"Isn't it?" Lance grins. Keith feels like he should return the favor and gives Lance a bite of his dish.

Lance purposively takes his time to bite down on the food, his eyes glinting mischievously. Retracting his hand, feeling heat creeping up his neck, Keith busies himself with stuffing his face.

He heart was going to explode out of his chest by the time dinner was over.

* * *

0000000000

When the dinner was said and done, Keith's heart thankfully still in his chest, Lance took Keith's hand. Instead of running off to ready some other event, Lance took Keith for a walk.

The romantic stroll was the perfect way to end the date, and Keith leaned into Lance. Lance smiles and leans back, kissing the top of Keith's head.

They talked, and walked, and laughed and tripped a few times over their own feet.

They even scale up a hill, pointing out to different areas of the city the higher they got till they were finally able to look over the entire kingdom.

Lance brings Keith's face into his hands and smiles at him "Keith," Lance said, his voice full of the same luscious agony Keith felt building inside of his chest all day. "I'm going to kiss you."

He was giving Keith one last chance to back out, to push him away. Like that was ever going to happen

Instead, he willingly swoons when Lance dips him, tilting his chin for a kiss.

As they pull up, Keith is aware of the time slipping away. It was going so quickly that Keith was embarrassingly unwilling to let it end- wishing this single day would last forever. He couldn't waste a single second he had with Lance.

Swaying back and forth, Lance arms around Keith's waist and his circled around Lance's shoulder, they press their forehead together and stared, soaking in the other's eyes.

Lance smiles, quietly inquiring, "What are you thinking about?"

Befuddled, Keith blurted out the truth, "I don't want this to-" he catches himself, but it feels too late to just back down now, "To end."

"Who says it will?" Lance fought back a smile as he bent his head down and touched his lips to the hollow at the base of Keith's throat. "This can go on for as long as you want, Keith,"

"That might be a while," Keith struggles to concentrate. He chokes back a gasp when Lance kisses up his jaw, the attention small but exhilarating. "L...Lance," he warns quietly, already feeling the affect between his legs.

Lance catches on quickly and gasps, "Really, Keith? Right now?"

"Ignore it," Keith insists, trying to catch his breath. .

"We were having a perfectly wonderful evening Keith. How long have you had that?" he motioned to between Keith's legs.

"Ignore. It." he practically pleads, wanting to burying himself 50 feet below ground.

"It is pressing agianst my thigh! I can't just ignore it!" Lance yelled.

"You are ruining the moment, Lance!"  
"ME? You are the one ruining the moment!"

"You!" Keith tries to make a grab at him to smack his face, but Lance turns and runs in the opposite direction. A good run was definitely a good way to calm himself down, and they ended up collapsed on a bench, only able to make their way back to the apartment when it got back.

Stumbling into the room like a drunk couple the two giggle and kiss with no coherent pace.

When Lance forced himself to step back, unable to stand Keith's pleading eyes for him to stay, he says, "You still have that side effect,"

Keith groans, "Right," he agrees reluctantly. Smiling at him, Lance pecks his cheek.

"I"m going to go wash my face,"  
"Okay…"

Sharing one last lingering kiss, Lance disappears into the bathroom, leaving Keith to his muddled thoughts. Feeling like he was walking on clouds, he took off his jacket, changed into his pajamas, and fell back into the back with a dreamy sigh.

To his delight, the gifts Lance had given him throughout the day were placed to his right by Tellru.

Today had been quite a day. The best day of his life, Keith thinks.

And Lance had given him that. Lance had blessed him with so much joy.

Lance…

He was...

It wasn't till he could hear Lance humming in that bathroom that Keith sat up, realization striking him.

He loved him.

Like a slap to the face he realized he loved the one and only Lance McClaine.

Tossing himself to press his face into the pillow, he was tempted to scream into it- both from embarrassment and joy. He wasn't some hormonal teenager anymore, he was going to be turning 18 here in a few months- he could act maturely about this!

…..

Giggling, he rolls a bit along the bed, too happy to really care about being mature or not.

He was so happy.

He was also really tired.

When Lance comes out of the bathroom, he should tell him he loves him. Or was it too early to declare something like that? They've been here for…

Honestly, Keith was losing track of how long they had been in this strange planet. A few months at least, right? Maybe four. Maybe five?

Five wonderful months with Lance had made him almost spoiled to his attention- but this was a thing, right? They were kind of like boyfriends. They were boyfriends…

He was Lance's boyfriend.

Yawning, his eyelids growing heavy, Keith turns over to curl into the big red lion plushy. It smelled like Lance.

Inhaling his scent, Keith closes his eyes, letting his mind wander.

Five minutes later, lance doesn't know what to say when he returns to bed to find Keith passed out in the middle, snuggled up close to the large Red lion stuffed animal Lance had made him.

"Well…" Lance chuckles, adoring the sight just a little.

Sliding into the bed, allowing Keith most of the room, almost jealous of how close he snuggled with the stuffed animal, Lance chuckles. "G'night, sleeping beauty." he sits up, looming over the other to kiss the top of his forehead. Taking a moment to admire just how handsome keith was, Lance brushes back one of his bangs. "...Love you, mullet" he whispers. Turning over and pulling the blankets up to tuck Keith, Lance felt a wave of exhaustion hit him.

Yawning he shut his eyes, pleased with how perfect this day had ended.

He had planned on telling Keith he loved him when he was done washing his face, but he supposed that his confession could wait for another day.

* * *

 **This was by far, probably the hardest chapter I've head to write. I don't even know why? I just... it was a struggle for some reason.**

 **I've never written a chapter included just a date before XD So I hope it was okay.**

* * *

 ** _Reviews:_**

 ** _Adraianna Agray:_** Thank you so much!

 **Zaffrebat17:** Yeah. he definitely didn't deserve it :( But thank you so much for taking the time to review and thank you!

 **AngiMK:** PATIENCE YOUNG GRASSHOPPER, GIVE IT SOME CHAPTERS! XD MAYBE 2 or 3, WHO KNOWS? XD

 **Phoenix51:** I am such a tease! I'm sorry! XD (but also not sorry)

 **Pinkdoughnuts:** I can't help it! XD I love to be a tease! I swear, not too much teasing left! ... Maybe a little more teasing XD BUT THEY ARE GETTING SUPER CLOSE, I PROMISE! XD

 **Ewink18:** Oh my gosh thank you! XD I'm so sorry I got in the way of your Klance! They'll get there eventually! XD Promise! You'll see a lot more starting now! :D

 **Dick-Grayson-Trash:** Oh my gosh, you did? Thank you so much ;-; I'm so sorry you were having a bad day. I hope today is a little better though, friend :3 I love you user name by the way. Dick Grayson is one of my favorite heroes :3

 **Devil Wolf Girl:** Ah! I'm sorry about that! I don't know what is wrong with fanfiction. I even double, triple check my chapters, but everytime I click save, it picks a few lines within the chapter and repeats them. I try to catch them the best I can but some always slip by :( But thank you so much for your support :D That means so much to me!


	24. This is real

_**WARNING! THERE IS A NSFW SCENE AT SOME POINT IN THIS CHAPTER!**_

* * *

When Keith awoke, he was surprised to see Lance staring at him. He was resting his cheek on his hand, which was propped up by his elbow- his eyes filled with so much affection that Keith quietly pinched himself below the blankets to make sure he was actually awake.

"Morning sleepy head," Lance seems oddly chipper in the way he greets Keith, and it puts him on edge.

Lifting a hand to rub at his eyes, he asks, "What are you so happy about?"

Lance leans forward a little, his hand trailing up to brush back Keith's bangs, "Do you know you talk in your sleep sometimes?"

"What?"

"You mumble, probably when you are dreaming," Lance says in a matter-of-fact tone. "You talk about the weirdest things,"

Keith wasn't really following him and raised his eyebrow, "What kind of things?"

"Well, even when you sleep you are as stubborn as ever- kept saying "You aren't the boss of me" or "Don't tell me what to do'," Lance snickers. Then he draws still, eyes dark as he says, "Sometimes you even said my name,"

Keith sounded like the wind had been knocked out of him when he asks, "How many times did I say it?"

"Not that often,"

"But enough to catch your interest…?" Keith understands why he was in such a happy mood now.

The sly smile only confirms it, "Perhaps."

Heat flooded through Keith's face all the way to his hairline. To avoid this, he turned to hide his face into his pillow, "Kill me now,"

"You're adorable," Lance chuckles, "Hey. Hey, Keith," he nudges him a little.

"What?" he grumbles, refusing to look at him.

"When we get back to Earth… I want you to come meet my family,"

Keith lifts his head, startled, "Your family?"

"I think they would really like you,"

"Oh," fiddling with the blankets, he nods a little. Something about Lance wanting him to come meet his family made Keith feel happy... made him feel wanted, "Yeah, I'd like that,"

Lance chuckled, leaning into him to kiss the top of his head, "I'm gonna go take a quick bath," He informs him.

Turning over to watch him get off the bed, Keith sits up, "Want me to come with?"

"Nah," Lance tells him, "If you do, I might not remember to actually take a bath and clean myself,"

Keith is puzzled, not sure what he meant. "Huh?"

Lance smiles, "I'd get distracted,"

Keith spluttered at the implications behind that devastating statement, but Lance had gathered his clothes and was already heading for the door before he could think of a suitable reply.

Waiting for the door to click shut, Keith takes a moment to sit on the bed and think. This morning had felt… different.

They woke up just the same, Lance teasing him as always- but there was a difference in the feeling behind those words. Perhaps Keith was just imagining it but...it made his heart race.

Reaching down, Keith plucked the notes from below the nightstand. Scanning them over once again, he leaned back into the giant Red lion plushie, curling into himself into the softness of its fabric.

Yesterday had been by far the best night of his life.

How had Lance managed to even plan so much in such a short time? It was just-

He giggles to himself, rolling over in the bed.

Lance was charming, to say the least. More charming than Keith thought Lance could ever be.

Lifting his hand to his chest, Keith felt for the small Equivalent band that hung from his neck. Lance had changed the location of his band to his finger and was still wearing it that way into today.

Wondering if it was okay for him to do the same, Keith sat up and took the necklace off. Taking the band off the chain, he glanced around.

For some reason self-conscious that someone was watching, he quietly slipped the band over his ring finger.

Growing embarrassed at the location he quickly changed it to his index finger.

The sight of it made his heart flutter

Almost tempted to take it off, the weight of the ring feeling heavy, his heart wouldn't allow him too, so it stayed. Hoping to busy his mind, he got up to get some breakfast going.

Sauntering over to the kitchen, he pulled out some leftovers to reheat and stood in front of the fire, stirring it from time to time with a fork. The meal was half way done when the door slammed shut behind him.

"Keith!"

He barely managed to turn before Lance's voice breathed into his ear from behind. "Hey Keith~" Lance was enveloping him in a wet embrace.

"Lance!" Keith yells angrily as water started to soak into his shirt. Lance was thankfully wearing pants, but it was like he had stepped out of the bath, threw on said pants, and then went to hug him. Which is exactly what happened.

"Go dry off! You're soaked!"

"But I wanted to see you~" Lance cooed.

Keith attempted to swat at him with his fork, "The floor is wet now!" Feeling like some wet dog had just jumped at him, Keith tried to pull away. He could feel Lance's heated skin at his back the more the water soaked into his shirt. It was warm, but the notion of getting wet was still there, so he attempted to elbow him.

"Oh come on Keith,' Lance tightens his arms around his torso, slightly rubbing into him. Keith yelled.

"I'm trying to cook!"

Lance was giving him a pouty face, then says, "I just had to confirm something,"

"Confirm something?" Keith questions.

"Well, Tellru said it would take a few days for that side effect to wear off... and it's been a few days. So I wanted to see that if I turned you on by touching you." How Lance managed to say that without blushing, Keith would never know, "I'm soaking wet, hugging you, and you didn't get turned on, so~" he wiggled his eyebrows, "The effect must have worn off."

Keith's face burns brightly, feeling almost lightheaded. "Oh…" his anger had vanished as soon as it appeared, leaving him to awkwardly stand before the fire with Lance's soaking body pressed tightly to his.

From time to time, water from Lance's hair dripped onto Keith's neck, making him shiver. Unable to stand here fro much longer, Keith stammers, "U-Um… So, it wore off,"

"Must have,"

Keith didn't know what else to say. He knew what he wanted to say, but there was no way he could bring himself to speak it out loud- no way he could request that Lance and him…

"What are you cooking?" Lance whispers against the back of his neck.

"Breakfast," he replies weakly."

"That is very specific," Lance's hands wander ever so slightly, squeezing Keith's hips and brushing along his sides. When his thumb skims over his shirt, above one of his nipples, Keith almost gasps, his hand gripping tightly to his fork.

"Breakfast things… Um… E-Eggs."

Keith attempts to focus on the task ahead of him, definitely not loving the way Lance paid special attention to kissing the back of his neck, working his way down to the tender spot where Keith's neck met his shoulder. Lance scraped his teeth over the frantic beat of his pulse and revealed in the delicate shudder that shook Keith's body.

"I could go for some eggs," Then Lance's tongue slide against the shell of Keith's ear, and the red paladin groaned softly, falling against Lance and loving every second.

"Oh…" Lance suddenly stopped. Keith's eyes snapped open, eyeing Lance from over his shoulder.

"W-What?" he asked.

"You're hard…" Lance realizes. The set gaze was enough to get Keith to try and cover himself, embarrassed and unable to handle Lance staring at him so seriously.

Clicking his teeth a little, sounding spiteful to himself for not realizing, Lance stepped back. "Sorry, Keith, that was my bad. Guess the side effect hasn't fully worn off yet." he turned to collect his shirt.

Keith felt like his mental state was cracking, "What? N-No! You got it wrong! I'm not- this isn't from the drug or the side effects or-!" he shuffled after Lance in a flustered panic.

"Pretty sure it is," Lance sighs like he is disappointed.

"It's not, Lance! This is normal me!"

Lance gives him a patronizing look as he unfolds his shirt to put it on "You've never got hard over me kissing you or touching your chest before, Keith,"

Keith grabs his hands to stop him, "That's not- you don't know that!"

"I do know that because you haven't!"

"Who says I haven't?!" Keith roared in rage, cutting himself off and stepping back, startled at his own words. Lance had a similar expression, his shirt dropping from his grip and landing on the floor.

"W...What?" he asked weakly."I've-" Keith licked his dry lips, his mind racing too fast to stop him. He had to make Lance understand though. He didn't want there to be any understanding about this. He wanted Lance. He had to know that, "I've gotten hard over you… even before the drugs…." he shudders, "From just looking at you or w-wet dreams…"

"I've-" Keith licked his dry lips, his mind racing too fast to stop him. He had to make Lance understand though. He didn't want there to be any misunderstanding about this. He wanted Lance. He had to know that, "I've gotten hard over you… even before the drugs…." he shudders, "From just looking at you or w-wet dreams…"

"Wet dreams?" Lance gawks at him,

Keith cut himself off, unable to comprehend the fact that he had admitted that out loud. "I- don't take that out of context…"

"Out of context?" Lance almost laughs, his cheeks red. "What could I possibly understand wrong about that?"

"S-Shut up!" Keith grumbles, "I just... " he lifts his hands, gripping Lance's shoulders. Knowing how embarrassing this would sound, he swallowed, eyes narrowed with determination, "Kiss me, Lance. I want..."

Lance was inching ever so closer, his breathing choppy, "You want?" he inquired. He moved closer to Keith, his face just inches away from the other. They stood motionless. Keith looked deep into Lance's eyes. He wasn't sure how he did, but Lance seemed to be able to tear away his barriers, leaving him vulnerable.

They stood motionless. Keith looked deep into Lance's eyes. He wasn't sure how he did, but Lance seemed to be able to tear away his barriers, leaving him vulnerable.

Keith looked deep into Lance's eyes. He wasn't sure how he did, but Lance seemed to be able to tear away his barriers that he has spent years building, leaving him more vulnerable than he had ever been before. "You," Keith murmurs earnestly.

"Then…" With his nose two inches away, Lance slightly tilted Keith face and looked at his lips. Keith turned his face at the opposite angle, welcoming Lance's mouth against his with vigor.

Feeling unable to get enough of the blue paladin, Keith's reached down, sliding his palms to Lance's hips and squeezing- a silent request. Lance was already jumping into his arms, straddling Keith's hips with his legs.

Securing his hands under Lance's knees, Keith stepped back. When his calves hit the couch he sits down.

Lance leveled his gaze on him—the intensity there whispering promises Keith couldn't fathom—and he shivered.

Taking the red paladin's face into his hands, Lance brought them back together for a searing kiss.

Melting into it, Keith hands hovered along Lance's body, not quite sure what was okay and not okay to touch. He waited to Lance to initiate the first contact, feeling his hands grip his shoulders, lifting his shirt ever so slightly.

"It's okay…" Lance assures him through the kiss, taking on of Keith's hand and putting it to his chest. Pausing to admire the warmth of the skin below him, Keith leans forward, attaching his mouth to Lance's collarbone.

When he groans, Keith slides his palm over Lance's hip. Tugging him closer, they both gasped when Lance's inner thighs brushed against the smooth fabric of Keith's shorts

Lance wiggles at the sensation, his chest heaving for air, "Y-Your…" Lance wasn't sure how to describe how confident Keith had gotten since a few days before. It was like a switch had been flipped inside his head, making it hard for Lance to keep up with him.

Keith's smirk is small and enticing, and he grinds up into Lance with little hesitation.

Lance arches his back with a gasp. Loving the sound, Keith's eyes trailed down to Lance's pants, eyeing them hungrily. He wanted them off, and was about to suggest they slide them off of the blue paladin's lovely hips when there was a knock on the door.

Keith pulled away with a hiss, "Come on," he growled in frustration. Lance, smug as ever, grinned impishly into Keith's neck, sucking till the skin turned purple.

"Impatient are we?" he licks at the spot.

Panting a little, Keith looks away, "I've been waiting for days,"

Lance sat up a little, gripping the back of Keith's head. Lowering himself, he husks into the red paladin's ear, "I would like to continue this later," he bit his earlobe.

Keith wasn't sure he could wait for later. But he nodded frantically, hating having to watch Lance pull himself from the couch and over to the door.

In less than a second, he becomes mesmerized by the sight of Lance's shapely backside. It was incredible. Keith felt perverted at how his mind wandered, and had to sit on his hands to stop himself from reaching out... to stop himself from pulling Lance back, running his hands down past his waist line to his asss, knowing if he did he would spank it, bite it, worship it- hell, he would defile it till Lance screamed his names to the heavens.

Keith bit his lower lip and looked down at his knees.

He really was impatient. "If it is Dravla again, I will murder him!" Keith calls the warning

"Hey there!' Lance placed on his best and most innocent smile as he opened the door, instantly recognizing the Coeihn, "Well if it isn't Dravla,"

Keith screams in frustration behind him.

"... I'm gonna act like I didn't interrupt you to,' Dravla says stiffly, "And instead I'm just going to say hello and ask how you two are doing?"

"Good," Lance grins. "We were actually just about to head over to your house,"

"Ooh," Dravla says unbelievingly, looking from the shirtless Lance to the red-faced Keith along the couch. "Right then. Well, I'm here to give you this," he hands Lance a letter. "It's an update on the search for that tower blocking our communications. Not too much to see, but I thought you two would still like to see it."

"Oh," Lance takes it gratefully, "Thank you,"

Dravla nods, "We're working hard to locate," he assures them, "I want to help you two get back home as soon as possible,"

Touched, Lance smiles, "I appreciate that, Dravla," he tells him. Waving to him as he left, he closed the door and brought the letter to Keith for him to read. Letting him look it over as he threw on a shirt, the two of them readied for the day.

"Hey," Lance takes something from the closet, "Can you wear this today?"

Keith isn't sure what he means and approaches him, taking the all too familiar shirt from his hands, "This?" he pales,

"It's the shirt you got at the Equivalent festival, right?" Lance beams.

"Yeah..."

"Well I was still super blind then and didn't really get to appreciate you wearing it so..." he puckers his lips and widens his eyes for Keith in a pleading manner, "Please wear it today?"

Keith groans, shaking his head, "It's... embarrassing, Lance."

"Just today," Lance promises him. "We are just going to Tellru's house anyway. They've already seen you in it,"

Keith is tempted to say that it isn't them that Keith would be embarrassed by but lets it slide, agreeing reluctantly. tossing the shirt over his head, he gives Lance a small show of the shirt to satisfy him, "There," he grumbles,

Lance claps, grinning from ear to ear, "It looks good on you, Keith," he assures him.

Finishing their breakfast, sharing small smiles and bumping their feet against each other below the table, they left to head to Tellru and Dravla's house. .

As they walked, Keith almost choked when Lance's hand daringly slipped into his back pocket. Tensing for only a moment, forcing a glance in the blue paladin's direction, Keith held his breath for a short distance.

Lance said nothing about it so neither did he. But he could feel it. Lance's hand, with each step, limply pressed against his butt through his jeans, pressing closer when his pants tightened with a step, then giving some room when his pants loosened once more. It was a torturous walk, but Keith saw no reason why he couldn't do the same.

So he slowly slunk his own hand across the back of Lance's waist and into his pocket. With each movement, he could feel the curve of Lance's ass as it swayed from side to side. Holly hell it was-

"Plump," Lance notes out of nowhere. And then he squeezes.

Keith hits him when the motion pulled an indignant squeeze from his lips. "Lance!" he scolded.

"Couldn't help it! That was cute," Lance rubbed at his sore jaw.

Growling at him, Keith forces Lance's hand into his so he can't attempt to touch his butt again. Lance pouts a little, but entangles their fingers together nonetheless. After a short while, he lifts Keith's hand to his face, curious.

"Your band," he notes, motioning to Keith's finger. Keith had forgotten to return it to his necklace and almost pulls away; taking a moment to insure his voice wouldn't crack.

"What about it?"

"Nothing," Lance seems pleased, and gives Keith's hand a small kiss, "It looks good on you,"

"Oh…."

With a swing of their hands, they approached Tellru's house.

When did it become such a battle to walk to Tellru's house? Keith wasn't sure... But it was definitely becoming dangerous for his heart.

"Welcome boys," Tellru says with a warm smile.

'Hey!" lance waves, but cuts himself off when Tellru puts a finger to her lips to silence. "What?"

With a smile Tellru motion upward, "Ruru just fell asleep. She had so much fun this morning with her friends she came home and fell right asleep,""Aww," Lance smiles, "That is cute,"

"Aww," Lance smiles, "That is cute,"

"It is," Tellru gushes, "Well here, come in. I was just doing some sewing. Would you two like to join me?"

"You got me hooked after I made the doll for Keith," Lance admits to her, "I'll join ya,"

Keith shrugs, "I don't really know how to,"

"I could teach you," Tellru says, "It isn't that hard once you get the hang of it,"

With nothing better to do, Keith shrugs and follows Tellru to the table. Watching her place the essential materials in front of them, he pokes at them awkwardly.

"So you just made that Red doll out of… this?" Keith points to the fabric.

"Sure did," Lance grins proudly, "Tellru taught me how. She definitely helped out a lot with how little time we had." Lance perks up, "Hey, why don't we make Blue!" he suggests.

Keith nods, "You'll have to show me how."

"I gotcha covered,"

Tellru muses at the two, "Well, then we will require some of this fabric," She pulls out some blue and places it in front of them. "It is important to plan everything out before you begin, so you can get the measurements correct." Helping them work out how big they wanted the Blue doll to be, deciding to make it as big as the last one, Tellru paused to get them some snacks. "I just cut this fruit a little while ago. Help yourself to it," she placed it within the middle of the table and sat back down, lifting her needle.

Lance didn't hesitate to take a bite, munching on the fruit happily, "Yummy~"

"Alright Keith," Tellru sat down and began to explain the steps to him. Handing him strange looking scissors, she left him in charge of cutting the fabric.

Looking a little unsure, he nodded and attempted his best to make sure each slice of fabric matched the measurements Tellru and Lance required.

It was almost cute in Lance's eyes how seriously he seemed to take the task.

Chuckling at him, everyone paused when that strange small box began to ring in the kitchen. Assuming it was a Coeihns version of a phone, Lance watch as Tellru got up.

She rushed to the box and lifted the receiver, ("Yes?") she asked. A Coeihn voice filtered from the other end. Listening quietly, shock fell over Tellru's face. Nodding once and saying a few replies, she hung up and turned abruptly.""Everything okay?" Lance asked.

"Everything okay?" Lance asked.

"Yes," she nods, "The King has suddenly called another meeting. I believe it is possibly about the radio interference. Perhaps it has been located." Tellru tells them.

"That's great!" Lance grins.

"Yes," she smiles back. "But it calls for me to be there, so I must leave. Would you two mind staying here until I return to watch Ruru? She is still asleep,"

"Of course," Keith nods to her, "Good luck at your meeting."

"Thank you." she bows her head, rushing to grab her bag and run out the door. "I leave the house in your care till I return~"

"Will do~" Lance closes the door and rejoins Keith at the table.

He is very focused on his tasks, making sure to cut out each fabric as precise as he could. Lance watches him with a little smile, titling his head curiously at how distant Keith's eyes were.

"What are you thinking about?' lance inquires.

Keith pauses for a long time, then slowly says, "Your family. I'm wondering if they will actually like me like you said,"

"They'll love you,"

He smiles a little, "You can't know that for sure,"

"They are my family, of course, I know for sure." he was messing with Keith's hair, stylizing his bangs. Keith turned into him, head fitting perfectly into the crook of Lance's neck.

"...Yeah?"

"Yes," he kisses Keith's nose.

Scrunching his nose slightly, Keith scrubs at it with his finger, "Hey," he asks Lance.

"What?"

"What did that song mean? He inquired.

"Hmm?' Lance tilts his head.

"The one you sang to me yesterday. It was in Spanish, so I didn't understand anything you were saying,"

"Oh," Lance clears his throat, laughing nervously, "N-Nothing much…"

"Tell me," Keith smirks.

"Nope. No way,"

"Lance," he chuckles, "You sang it to me yesterday. What's the big deal of telling me the translation of it?"

"Because… because yesterday you didn't understand it so I had more confidence in it. It's embarrassing," he grumbles.

"Lance," Keith puts his hand over his, a quiet plea.

Lance makes a slightly whining noise, unable to go against Keith when he gets like this, "Okay. Okay fine, jeez," he grumbles. Taking a second to work up his nerves he says, "It's just this cute little song, okay?"

"What's the translation to English?"

"..." Taking a second to purse his lips, Lance opened his mouth and quietly began to sing the song once more. It felt more intimate, being this close together.

Lance's voice is barely above a whisper as he leans in a little closer to Keith, taking his hands into his "Te amo y más, de lo que puedes imaginar." He surprise him when he pulls the red paladin to his feet, wrapping his arm around his waist to sway them back and forth, "Te amo ademas como nunca nadie jamas lo hará. En esta canción, va mi corazón. Amor mas que amor es el nuestro y te lo vengo a dar. "

"What…?" Keith inquires, his eyes wide, stumbling to dance with him, "This isn't English, Lance," he pouts at him a little.

Lance's eyes twinkle a little and he takes that chance to spin Keith, dancing with him around the kitchen. "Te miro y más... y más y más te quiero mirar. Te amo y sabrás puro sentimiento y no hay nada más. Y sueño llegar a tu alma tocar. Amor mas que amor es el nuestro y te lo vengo a dar."

Keith chuckles, getting used to dancing. At least with Lance, that is. "This isn't English, Lance," he giggles into his shoulder. Lance chuckles back, spinning them in large circles.

"Ruego a Dios tenerte a mi lado y entonces poderte abrazar. Si no estás aquí algo falta, Yo por ti pelearé hasta el final."

"Lance," Keith tries to insist, despite his smile, "I'm serious. What's the translation? Lance-" he yelps when Lance dips him once, then twice. "Lance!" he cackles. He grips his shoulders to stop him, forcing himself to stand upright, looking Lance right in the eye. "Tell me what it means?" he huffs at him, breathless.

Lance smiles smugly, leaning down to boop his nose teasingly to Keith's, "Y sueño llegar a tu alma tocar. Amor mas que amor es el nuestro y te lo vengo a dar"

Just as Keith was about to have enough and was going to force Lance to tell him, the blue paladin decided to get dramatic about the show, and threw their arms up high. He began to spin them so fast that Keith felt his feet come off of the ground from time to time. "Lance!" he squawks at him.

"Te amo y ¡más! Haha! Te amo y sabrás que nadie como yo te amará. En esta canción yo veo quien soy. Amor mas que amor es el mío y lo siento," he is getting goofy now, tossing Keith from side to side, peppering his face with kisses and making the red paladin giggle, "Amor mas que amor es el tuyo y presiento. Amor mas que amor es el nuestro, si tu me…" he paused, leaning closer to Keith,

Keith struggles to find his breath. Then his breath was being stolen for an entirely different reason as Lance turned and covered his mouth with his own. Keith was weak to it, as he always was, and sighed dreamily. Wrapping his arms around Lance, letting his eyes fall shut as the blue paladin pressed against hi, Keith felt Lance's hands at his back and relaxed into the hold.

"Lo das." Lance whispers between them when they part. Caught in the haze of it, Keith blinks aimlessly as he is placed back on his feet.

"...Huh?" he inquires.

"That's what it means," Lance concludes. Keith takes only a second to gawk at him before he tries to smack him.

'You didn't translate that at all!"

Lance grins impishly, "Oh, did I forget to do that?" he asks innocently, "Oh well,"

"Lance," Keith attempts to grab him. Lance seems to expect this and side steps away from him, running around the table.

"Our fruit is getting cold," he reminds him.

"It's fruit! It was cold to begin with!" Keith yells.

"Ah! Shh shh, Ruru is sleeping, remember?" Lance grins. "Don't be so grumpy~"

"Grumpy-Mph!" Keith gags when Lance suddenly stuffs a piece of fruit into his mouth.

Huffing angrily, Keith munched on the fruit with an angry pout to Lance. Snickering at him, Lance reached for another.

Without thinking, he held the fruit out to Keith to hand feed him. Keith paused and looked at Lance like he wasn't quite sure what he meant.

Lance waited, watching as slow realization crossed Keith's features. Cautious, he leaned forward and opened his mouth. Instead of simply plucking the fruit off with his teeth, Lance's fingers slipped past his lips, and both of their eyes widened.

When Keith sucked the fruit off Lance retracted his slightly wet fingers. The two froze up for a long time, staring in silence. Slowly, Lance swallows, and shifts his eyes nervously.

"Want another?" he inquired weakly, his hand trembling

Keith nodded, just barely, his breathing choppy. Lance scooped up some fruit and this time, when his fingers found their way into Keith's mouth, Keith put his hand on Lance's wrist to hold him there.

Slurping up the fruit, he swallowed slowly, his dark eyes lifting to lock with Lance's.

"Holy hell..."

Lance grabbed his chin, ripped his fingers from Keith's mouth, and I kissed him. Hard. Keith opened his mouth without complaint, groaning against Lance's tongue.

Without breaking the kiss, the two rise from their chairs, stumbling out of the kitchen to find their way to the couch. It was almost inappropriate to be doing this in someone else's house, but Lance was positive he wouldn't be able to stop even if Dravla and Tellru came marching back in.

Keith was just... he smelled too good. He looked too good. His voice alone sent chills up Lance's spine. Everything about him was irresistible.

Plopping against the couch cushion, Keith crawled into Lance's lap with little grace, "Off." he tugs on Lance's shirt.

"A little commanding, aren't we?" Lance muses, sliding a hand up Keith's thigh and squeezing.

He threw his head back, sighing at the contact. "Are you complaining?"

"Never," they share a quick peck, "Just curious to where this burst of courage is coming from,"

"I'm not sure what you mean," he pauses.

"Well a couple days ago you were pretty oblivious to this stuff," Lance tells him.

"Was not," he huffed.

"Stretching," Lance made a scissoring motion with his hands to prove his point. Not expecting Keith to understand, he was very surprised when Keith blushed a looked away.

"I-I know what that is," he mumbled.

"You do? You definitely didn't a few days ago. How did you find out? Do they have how to' guides here?," Lance asked, legitly curious"

"No, Lance," Keith rolled his eyes, "...I asked Dravla about it."

Lance had to look away to wrap that around his brain. "You asked Dravla? And um- how did he react when you brought this up?" He can only fear at what Dravla possibly told him.

Keith shrugged, "He didn't mind explaining and got pretty into it. Dragged me to a school and everything. He was actually pretty good at making it so I understood."

"That's good… I think," Lance cackled. "How did that turn out though?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we aren't exactly the same species, Keith. I mean, I'm sure some things were the same- but they are aliens. Both males and females can give birth here. Obviously, they are not exactly like us humans."

Keith blinks once, then twice. Then he looks away, "That actually explains a lot. I didn't understand half of what he was talking about…."

"Oh my god," Lance starts to laugh. "I can't believe you actually went and asked someone though."

"I had to-you weren't explaining!"

"How am I supposed to just explain this?" he made the scissoring motion again. Keith swatted his hand away.

"Stop being dirty,"

"I'm just making scissor motions- you are the one making it dirty!" Lance grinned. "Snip snip," he pretended to cut Keith's hair.

"We both know scissors are not what you are thinking about," Keith tried to step off of Lance's lap

Lance reached out and snagged Keith around the waist. He yelled when Lance lifted him slightly, spinning them to sprawl Keith back against the couch.

They wrestled for a bit, Lance tickling Keith's sides to the point where he snorted. "Ah!" Lance cackled, 'You snort! That was cute."

"Shut up!" Keith rolled them over, hitting him with a pillow a few times. "I don't want someone with anger problems to call me cute!"

"Anger problems?! I'm the one with an anger problem?!""You punched a guy just because he touched my hair a little." Keith nods, kind of smug.

"You punched a guy just because he touched my hair a little." Keith nods, kind of smug.

"I would punch any guy or girl who did that," Lance made a little face.

"You would not,"

"Would to!"

"Would not!"

"You obviously don't understand, Keith. It is a complicated and strange feeling!" Lance says dramatically.

"Oh bull!" Keith cackles.

The two rolled against each other, laughing and jabbing at the other to get them to giggle. At one point, Keith managed to gain the upper hand, and flipped the two of them over, pinning Lance below him. "It's just hair, Lance," he says, out of breath but victorious

Lance grunts a little, the wind almost knocked out of him, "It's not just hair, it's your hair… it's…" his cheeks blossomed with red at Keith's wide stare, "F-Forget it…"

The laughter died as Keith's elbows rested themselves on both sides of Lance's head, propping himself up enough to loom over the blue paladin.

Breathing heavily, the two seemed caught in a trance- both too scared to react.

"I…" Keith's voice was gruff, "I get mad when someone else touches you too." he admits, "It is hard to explain but I want to be the only one…" When Keith's hand moved to brush his thumb over Lance's lower lip, he was startled when it quivered at his touch.

"Keith?" Lance asked sweetly.

Always weak to that little quiver, Keith kissed him. It was soft and innocent till Keith ran his tongue along Lance's bottom lip. Lance surged to meet him, knowing full well how worked up Keith had to be to deepen a kiss that way. He gripped the front of Keith's shirt moaning low in his throat on purpose and was pleased to feel Keith shiver against him.

However, Keith could feel Lance's hesitation as they kissed. He hands were frozen at his side, tightly gripping the couch below, as if he were afraid to touch Keith

"Lance," he pulled away, "This isn't- This is me right now." he promises him, "Not the side effect of some drug. This is how I seriously feel about you,"

Lance inhaled slowly, "You sure?"

"It's me," Keith nuzzles their noses, "I want you,"

"O...Okay… then- C'mere," wrapping his arms around Keith's neck he tugged him back in. "But you better be quiet." he motions with his hand upstairs, knowing Ruru was still asleep.

"Okay. Can I…" Keith tugged a little at the collar of his shirt. He didn't miss how Lance's pulse jumped through his skin at the request.

"Oh uh… G-Go ahead."

With barely a second of hesitation, Keith was reaching for the bottom of the shirt. Twirling the fabric between his fingers, he slowly pulled it up.

Keith felt a kick to his pulse as he began to peel it off Lance's body, revealing more and more skin with each second until Lance had to lift his arms up, giving Keith some aid in undressing him.

Keith has seen Lance shirtless plenty of times, but seeing the stretch of muscles as the shirt was removed was something else. The Coeihns were right- his skin was immaculate- smooth and well defined and just godly.

Tossing the shirt a little to the right, Keith swoons at Lance's bare shoulder. How could a shoulder look so delectable? It was criminal.

"Keith-" Lance's breath caught in his throat when Keith leaned in and openly sucked on his collar bone, nipping his way over it to his shoulder, licking the spot.

Jumping a little at the sensation, he bit his lip, entangling his hand into Keith's hair. How was he feeling so hot from Keith simply licking his shoulders? It should have felt gross or something honestly… but it was far from that.

"Lance," Keith's hand worked down his chest, palming around his flattened stomach. Lance didn't go against the action, feeling embarrassingly exposed with his bare chest. "It's smooth…" Keith ran a testing had down the center of it, circling his abdomen before resting against his hip.

"C-Course it is…" Gasping from time to time, he felt Keith's lips trailing downward- there was a lick on his nipple. Startled and not expecting him to get so bold, Lance inhaled sharply, tensing when Keith began to suck on it.

He had never really felt anything from his nipples getting touched but… oh god he did now. How was this even possible? Maybe it was just something only Keith was able to do?

"K-Kei-" he shivered violently. This was so new, it was sending him up the wall.

And he hadn't even done anything below his waist yet- god…

He tried his best to move his hands, running them up and down Keith's back to keep himself busy. He even dared a teasing squeeze to his ass- pleased when Keith shivered a little.

Placing a hickey or two more to Lance's neck, Keith ran his tongue along his torso, loving the sensation of Lance's skin.

Together, they rolled their hips into the others, both groaning.

Realizing how deep they were getting into this, they pulled away. "I-" Lance's lips were bruised, his cheeks red. Keith loved the sight but the swirling thoughts in his mind were freaking him out. What were they just about to do? He had never felt anything like that before.

"Lance…" Keith grinding into him again, insistently, "I want this…"

Lance chokes a little, nodding, "Me… Me too," they kissed, and Lance arched his back, "Ahh…" he tightened his grip on the couch when Keith reached for his pants. Twirling his finger around the zipper, he gave it a small tug.

Lance thought he heard a knock.

With a little popping noise, Keith removed his mouth from Lance's chest and lifted his head, eyes hazy.

There was another knock, louder.

…. They sucked in a breath of panic when their buzzing minds began to clear.

Why?  
Why?!  
WHO THE HELL WAS AT THE DOOR?!

No, Lance had an idea of who it was already. It was probably the same person who has interrupted them the last two times!

"Don't answer it," Lance frowns, "Dravla can wait,"

"I won't." they try to go back to kissing, but the knocking is insistent. Lance knew Dravla always forgot his key, so it made him almost want to pause to check on who it was because shouldn't Dravla also be at that meeting Tellru was talking about?

"Lance! Keith!" Dravla confirms his presence with a yell.

"Oh my god… go away," Lance groaned angrily. They got five seconds of silence, and Lance thinks that maybe he gives up. "Finally…" with a bite to Keith's lower lip, the red paladin thumbs open the button to his pant, enticing a lovely gasp from his lips.

"Keith…" he shivers.

Keith smirks, but it is short lived. A heavy pounding on the door cuts between them once again.

"Dravla-!" Lance attempts to yell.

"Boys! You better open this door right now!" However, it wasn't Dravla this time, it was Tellru. Lance faintly recalls seeing her key on the table, so she must have forgotten it too, "I"M COMING IN!"

"What?" they both lift their heads. Knowing she fully meant it, especially when her sword came slicing through the doorframe, they screamed

Keith leapt off the bed like a startled cat, flushed and breathing hard. As he ran a hand through his hair to make it look normal, Lance was scrambling to grab his shirt- almost impossible with his trembling fingers.

Just as he reaches for his pant, messily zipping it back up, the door flies open a second later and Tellru comes barreling in, Dravla close on her heels.

"We are sorry to bother you but we- there is news!" Dravla says, eyes flaring with rage.

"Yes! We are here to warn you both… that…" Tellru trailed off, her finger slowly pointing her still unsheathed sword at Keith. Narrowing her eyes suspiciously at the sight of his reddened cheeks and slightly sweating brow she gasped in horror and looked at Lance. Seeing how ruffled his clothes were and that his pants were slipping off his waist- since he was unable to zip it up fully before the door was opened, she suddenly punched Dravla.

"WHY?" he cried out.

"WE INTERUPTED THEM AGAIN!" she wailed of anguish.

Dravla leapt to his feet and clutches at his cheek, "No we didn't! They weren't-" he sniffed and screamed, "I DID IT AGAIN! I am so sorry! I do not mean to interrupt you when you are trying to acquire the other!"

"Shut up shut up!" Lance screamed, heart pounding.

"HEY WAIT!" Dravla roars, "THIS IS OUR HOUSE!"

The two paladins laugh nervously, "Was it?" Lance inquired innocently.

"Hadn't noticed," Keith agrees,

"And on our own couch, no less. You two have gone so far," Tellru sniffles, like that is the most touching thing she's ever heard of.

"On our couch, Tellru!' Dravla repeats the words to her, "OUR COUCH! We sit there!"

"Like we haven't done our own fair share there," Tellru scoffs, rolling her eyes.

Lance made a gagging sound, "Oh god... Oh gross." the thought that they had just been about to do... on a place Tellru and Dravla... "Everyone stop talking, I'm going to be sick," Lance pleaded with them, "J-Just- what was so important that you had to come slicing through your own door?"

The two went pale, sharing nervous glances. Not liking how serious their faces grew, Lance frowned.

"What?" he asked.

They were hesitant, and finally spoke, "You have been challenged,"

"What?" Lance felt cold, "Again? No thanks,"

"I'm afraid it isn't that simple anymore, Lance," Dravla says, his voice thick.

"What? What do you mean?"

"You can't say no to this challenge." Tellru agrees.

"Who says he can't? Who in the world is the challenger?" Keith frowned.

There was an uneasy pause before they spoke, "Rashra,"

"Rashra?" Keith growls.

Lance can already feel the bile pilling in the back of his throat.

"That weirdo?" he grumbles, "Didn't he already learn his lesson when I won my right for citizenship? I don't want to fight him,"

"A battle against the head of the guard is no small deal, Lance. Everyone will want to see this. They are preparing the arena for it!"

"The arena?" Lance paled. He hadn't had any intention of ever going back there again, "When is the fight?""In a days time,"

Tellru puts her sword away, "In a days time,"

"That's not long," Keith grumbles, "Why the hell does he want to challenge Lance?"

"Probably for the same reason everyone has challenged him," Dravla gave him a pointed look. "Rashra already attempted to make you his equivalent the first time you arrived anyway,"

"It's why I had to win within that first day," Lance nods, "How strong is Rashra?"

"He is titled head of the guard for a reason," Tellru sighed, "Most likely everyone in the entire Kingdom will be there."

"Everyone?" Lance gawks at her, "For just a challenge?"

"Can't he deny it like the last one?" Keith grumbles

"This one is different- it isn't just some citizen, Rashra's the head of the guard. His political position and government title will be put on the line when he challenges another,"

"Wait, what does that mean?" Lance asked

"It means that if he wins, he gets Keith and keeps his position, but if you win, you keep Keith and become head of the royal guard,"

"Wha- no! I don't wanna be head of the royal guard!" Lance gasps, horrified at both options. More so with the idea of Keith going to Rashra.

"You could easily pass the role to another if you got it, Lance," Dravla tells him.

"Well…" Lance attempts to think positive, "So what if he challenged me? The challenges don't seem that bad here." When Dravla gave him a look, Lance frowned, "Right…?"

"Lance, I don't think you understand how bad this is." He says, "Rashra didn't call for just a simple challenge. He requested the higher battle us Coeihns can go through. A blood fight."

"A blood fight?"

"Coeihns are a people of battle, but there are some fights that can't be settled with a simple spare. The blood fight is something that ends all ill will at the source. We don't have them often," Tellru sighs.

"What is it exactly?" Keith says, reaching for Lance, already dreading the answer.

"It will be a fight to the death- the winner decides if the other will live or die."

"What?!" they demand."Knowing Rashra, if he beats you- he will call for your execution… or simply kill you within the arena." Tellru said heavily.

"Knowing Rashra, if he beats you- he will call for your execution… or simply kill you within the arena." Tellru said heavily.

"That's bull shit!" Keith screamed

Lance had to reach out and snatch Keith's wrist when he rose in rage, "Keith," he insisted. He was scared enough as it was- he didn't need Keith blowing up right now.

Taking a second to look over his shoulder, Keith forces himself to calm down enough. "Why can't he say no?"

Tellru hesitates, "Well… he can,"

"I can?!" Lance felt relief with that, "Why did you say I could before then?"

"Because there is a consequence for denying the challenge- especially if it is one for the right for a pure. I knew you would disagree to the consequence and would accept the challenge," Tellru says.

"I would? What is the consequence."

"...If you don't accept Rashra's challenge they'll take Keith…"

"Excuse me?!" Lance was standing now, beside Keith, "Why?!"

"He won't be given to Rashra, but he'll be taken away from you too. You won't be allowed to see him."

"That's bull!" Keith roared, "What is with all these messed up rules?!"

Tellru and Dravla glance at each other, then shrug, "We don't… know," they admit, their culture too engrained into their minds to really question it at this point. Lance couldn't blame them for that.

"Then let me try for citizenship! I'm sick of all this crap! No one can do anything if I'm a citizen, right?" Keith growled.

Dravla nods, "Of course, but with everything going on, we won't have another trial like that until after Rashra's battle. By then you would be considered a prize of war again- and the higher ups, which is Rashra, may not feel obliged to offer you a chance of citizenship.

Keith turned, storming around the couch to pace angrily within the room.

Lance watched him, eventually asking, "Isn't there any way around this?"

Tellru taps her chin, "Maybe…?" she doesn't sound too confident, "I'm sure there is something we can do,' Tellru reaches over to pat his hand, attempting to comfort him, "For now, let us handle this. We will try our best to avoid this. But stay prepared for tomorrow just in case."

Squeezing her hand, grateful to have her as an ally in this, he nods, "Thank you, Tellru."

They nod, looking upset that neither of them could do much in this situation.

With nothing else to do, and Keith not in the mood to sew any longer, they ended up going home. The entire way Keith was grumbling to himself, holding onto Lance's hand tightly.

When they arrived, they busied themselves with little things, eventually had dinner, and Lance attempted to talk normally- avoiding the conversation of the fight as much as possible.

As they readied for bed, Lance could feel Keith seething from across the room. Turning to him, he leans back against the counter and watches him pace around the table, teeth grit and eyes ready to kill.

"Keith," he says, "Tellru and Dravla said they would take care of it, so chill out,"

"I know," he grumbles.

"So don't worry about it,"

"I know," he says more insistently. Keith stares at Lance for 5 seconds before he goes back to pacing.

"You're such a hot head," Lance teases him. Turning to look over his shoulder, Keith scowled.

Moving to Lance, he stepped into his space, pinning him to the counter by pressing his palms on top, Lance snuggly between.

"Well I learned something that made me pissed,"

"Tale as old as time~" Lance grins, lifted his hands to hold Keith's face within them. "Everything will be fine," Lance pauses, and then reaches over to knock on the wood counter. "Knock on wood,"

"Does that count if we're on another planet?"

"Yes," Lance insists, "So don't jinx me,"

"Right,"

Smiling at each other, Lance tugged Keith a little kisser and kissed him. "Whatever happens, we'll get through it. We always have,"

Something about the Lance stating that both of them together would go through this made Keith feel a little better. Lance always seemed to have to do everything on his own, and Keith hated that. But, if he were able to stand next to Lance when the bad stuff happened- it wouldn't be so bad.

They could do it.

"Yeah,"

Keith was almost tempted to suggest a solution to this problem, but he wasn't sure how to just suggest something like becoming Equivalents over night. Tellru and Dravla said they could most likely handle it anyway.

And despite their previous activities, it had taken a lot of Keith's courage to actually act on those impulses.

But the thought was enticing.

Two birds with one stone or something.

Even as he thought this, Keith knew Lance wouldn't agree. Lance wouldn't want to have sex with him if it was just to stop some crazy NutJob from challenging him. And Keith didn't want that to be the first reason they did it either.

* * *

 **000-000**

The next morning, Keith awoke to Lance's mouth on his neck. Inhaling sharply, he gawks at the impish smile on Lance's lips.

"Morning,"

"M-morning," Keith stammers

"Sleep well?"

Keith nods sheepishly, watching as Lance lathers his throat with butterfly kisses; so soft to the touch it almost tickled. "What are you doing?"

"Just adoring this neck of yours. It's super smooth," Lance nuzzles into it, giving a sensual lick from his collarbone up.

Keith shivered, reaching up to wrap his arms around Lance's neck and bring him up for a kiss. It was almost too early from something like this- but Keith could hardly care.

Rougher than he intended, his bit down on Lance's lower lip, and the blue paladin groaned. The two rolled together, pressed so tightly that Keith could hardly slip a hand between them to lift Lance's shirt a little, feeling at his smooth stomach.

Lance moved on top of him, pressing Keith to the mattress below him as his hands roamed his chest freely. They squeezed and pressed to certain sensitive spots that Keith hadn't even realized drove him crazy till now and it was wonderful.

"Lance," he says into his ear.

The call of his own name seemed to be enough to steer Lance towards the next event, and his hand trailed down ward.

* * *

Nsfw scene start

When Lance's hand slipped between his legs, Keith gasped, squirming at the touch. Lance grips him through his pants, busying his mouth with sucking on Keith's collarbone.

"L-Lance…!" Keith groans beautifully, tilting his head back when the hand begins to move, pumping him through his shorts. The sensation clouded his mind, making him dizzy and his blood run hot.

He had never had anyone touch there but him before. Usually he thinks he can last a while, but as Keith has come to realize, it feels completely different when someone else it touching you.

You are completely at their mercy and he was positive this was going to be short if Lance didn't let up.

"You're so sensitive, Keith," Lance husks into his ear, his other hand trailing to brush against his nipples. Keith cries out in a small but sweet voice, curving his spine into Lance's touch.

Lance takes in the sight with dark eyes,

"La..." Keith grips Lance's shoulders harder, kissing him longer, unwilling to let him go. This is what Keith wanted; this is what he's wanted for weeks. For Lance's mouth, his body, everything he had to offer. Every muscle in Keith's body was attuned to Lance's, making his groin clench with delicious need.

"Don't stop, please," Keith begs, rolling his hips forward, searching for more of that mind numbing friction.

"Hey," Lance's hands slip teasingly below Keith's waistband a few times, "If it is alright by you, I want to try something. I want you to feel good..."

Keith blinked hazily, puzzled to what else Lance could possibly do to make this more enjoyable than it already was. Deciding to take the chance, he nods, "Okay."

Lance smiles softly and him and takes a second to kiss him before he his crawling down to Keith's legs.

Slipping Keith's pants down to his knees, Lance eyed him cautiously. Keith was tempted to cover himself, embarrassed at Lance's intense gaze, despite him having already seen him nude before.

"You trust me?" Lance whispered quietly.

"Course I do," Keith says, his thigh trembling with anticipation. He had wanted this for so long and couldn't help but glance at the door, expecting them to be interrupted at any moment.

"Keith," Lance takes his chin into his hands, turning Keith back to face him, "Don't worry about that. Just look at me,"

Keith does, entranced the moment their gazes meet, "Okay…"

With a smile, Lance kissed him, his attention moving back to what his hands were doing. "So…" he twirled his finger along Keith's tip, eliciting a whine from the red paladin below him. "Have you ever heard of a blow job before?"

Keith's breath caught in his throat, almost cumming just at the insinuation of Lance doing that to him, "A-Are you…?" he trails off.

The lift of his lips as he smirked is Keith's confirmation that Lance had been planning on doing this from the very start, "I'd like to give it a go, if you'd let me,"

Like Keith would ever say no but… "Isn't it… unsanitary or something?" he mumbles,

"No," Lance smiles. "Not unless you think it is. I'm fine with it,"

With that said, Keith swallows thickly. Feeling both excited and nervous, he nods, "Okay…"

Lance runs a hand down his thigh soothingly, "Relax," he coaxes him, "If it feels to weird or something, just tell me. I won't feel bad about it," with a gentle kiss, Lance descends downward.

Keith watches him, and holds his breath when Lance settles between his thighs. "Ready?" he peeks up at Keith curiously.

Keith can barely nod. He thought he was prepared, but no matter how much he knew what Lance was about to do, it still caught him off guard when Lance opened his mouth and took him in.

He cried out in surprise, squirming to the touch of Lance's tongue swiping across the tip of his cock, "H-Hell… Holy hell…" Keith chanted, gripping at the sheets tightly. Feeling Lance's mouth covering his tip, he threw his head back to groan. Lance was good at this.

He was too good at this.

"W-Wait Lance-" Keith pleads with him, "I'm gonna-"

"Already?" Lance pauses, gawking at him, "I've barely done anything."

Keith blushes, unable to look Lance in the eye, "I've- shut up. I'm new to this," he whispered heatedly.

"Oh yeah," Lance tilts his head lovingly. "Well, don't worry about cumming. It's not like this is the only time I'll ever do this. I'm planning on having a lot more, bonding moments, in the future," without another word, he took Keith back into his mouth and sucked hard.

Keith whines, almost turning away at the sudden feeling. Lance reached up and cupped his ass, tugging his hips forward to keep him still. Sliding his mouth as far as he could he listened to Keith yelp above him "

"L-Lance wait- Ahh!" His hips bucked and Lance almost choked, taking a second for Keith to calm down. When he did, Lance brought his lips back down.

With one had still cupping Keith's ass cheek, he used the other to grip his hip, holding it in place. He bobbed his heard mercilessly, loving how Keith was losing himself to the pleasure

Keith's cries were muffled, sounding wet from him pressing his lips to the back of his palm. With confusion but utter bliss swirling in his pupils he stared down at Lance.

"Lance… I-I can't-"

He was painfully close already.

Keith involuntarily bucked his hips, crying out. Reaching down to grip Lance's hair he moaned, "N-Not so f-fast-" it startled him when he came, his hips jerking violently into Lance's palm.

Almost rolling away at the sensation, feeling overwhelmed when he sucked Keith to completion, swallowing his cum as it came, Lance lifted his gaze to watch Keith come undone, enjoying the sight of his face.

* * *

Nsfw scene end

A second later Keith collapsed back into the pillows, gasping.

"So?" Lance swiped his finger over his lips, brushing away any substance that stuck to them, "How was that?"

Keith could hardly speak, his body flushed and his chest heaving for air, "G...Great." he stammered. "It was great,"

With a prideful smile, Lance sits up,

Forcing himself to follow Lance, Keith reached for him, gripping his shoulders. Spotting Lance's own hard on within his pants, Keith shuffled closer, "Let me do the same," he says.

"A blow job?" lance gawks at him, "Do you even know how?"

"I can learn," he says, determined, allowing himself to catch his breath. Smiling at him, lance chuckles.

"Okay…" he seems a little nervous suddenly, "If you want to. Don't feel that you have to just because I gave you one,"

To Keith, that had been the most amazing thing he had ever felt. He wanted to give Lance the same thing, even if he wasn't the best at it, "I want to," he tells him.

With a similar look of anticipation in his eyes that Keith had felt earlier, Lance nods meekly. "Okay," he moves to lay back, but freezes when he heard an all too familiar noise

A knock on the door.

"No…" Keith turns to it, horrified.

Lance laughs, "Figured as much,"

The pounding on the door grew more insistent.

"No!" Keith yells. "That isn't- you haven't-" frustrated, he is tempted to pull out his Bayard, threaten whoever is at the door to go away, then come back and make Lance fall apart with pleasure.

Lance on the other hand, seemed content, and rolled off the bed, "It's fine, Keith," He tells him.

"No it isn't!"

"It is," Lance grins, "At least, I'm satisfied. I got to touch you after being forced to wait for weeks so, it's okay. Next time, you can do whatever you want with me."

"Whatever I want...?" Keith glanced at him cautiously.

"Anything your heart desires~" Lance bows.

Taking his words deeply, Keith gulps and nods. Next time.

Smiling, Lance begins to back up to the door. "I would uh- you know," he motions to Keith pants that had been discarded to the floor.

Keith scrambles to gather them, "Dravla, I swear to the stars above I am going to kill you!" he grumbles as Lance inches to the door. Sliding his pants back up to his hips, his cheeks dusted with pink, he watches at Lance opens the door.

Lance chuckles, but it slowly dies off.

He had expected Dravla, since Dravla was usually the only one to ever come to their apartment besides Tellru, but instead it was two unfamiliar looking Coeihns.

Towering above him, dressed in the armor of the royal guard, they glance at each other, forcing themselves inside. Lance squeaks and stumbles back.  
"H-Hey," he says to them. Keith is dashing around the bed the second he sees them, grabbing Lance's arm.

"Who are you?" he demands.

"Keith! Lance!" from the hallway they can hear Dravla. He is sprinting towards them, sliding into their room in a panic. Seeing the two guards, he frowns and says something to them. They reply with a cold tone.

"Dravla?"" Lance gawks at him, "Wha-"

"The challenge," Dravla gasps out, "They are here for the challenge,"

Keith lifts his arm out to put Lance behind him, growling, "He's not doing it,"

"K-Keith,' Lance says slowly, wondering exactly how much of a choice they still had at this point.

"He's not!" Keith points to them. The two guards glance at each other. Despite not understanding his language, they seem to have understood what Keith was trying to say. Frowning, they step forward.

Dravla tries to argue as they grab Keith by his arms and lift him up.

"Keith!' Lance runs forward, but their brute strength is enough to hit him into the ground. Keith is yelling, fighting against the grip and roaring angrily.

"Dravla!" Lance pleads with him, "I thought you said you could figure this out?!"

"We couldn't! We tried but the blood fight is final! If you don't accept it and go to it right now, they take Keith away!" Dravla is blocking the door to stop them, attempting to allow Keith and Lance more time to work this out.

Caught with his feet frozen to the floor, Lance minds shoots from one option to another.

When Keith calls his name, Lance goes pale, "Lance! Lance it's fine! Just stay here!" Keith is telling him.

He isn't struggling as much, almost looking willing to go with this so long as Lance wouldn't have to participate in the blood fight.

It was that realization that got Lance's feet moving.

He whipped around, scrambling to grab his Bayard and throw on some decent pants before calling to the guards. "Wait! I'll do it! Don't take him away!" He ran forward, "I'll do it!"

"No!" Keith yelled at him, "Lance don't-"

"I'm not letting you get taken away," Lance yells. "I'm not just gonna sit here!"

Keith knew he meant that. Keith knew Lance wouldn't stop.

With enough force, he had thrown himself out of the Coeihns grasp. Ducking below them, he ran for Lance, barreling into him. He intended to run, to grab Lance and just get the hell out of there. He would prefer to make this entire city his enemy again than to have Lance fight on his behalf.

But when he tried to move, Lance grabbed his arms and yanked on them.

Wrapping his arms around Keith, he hugged him. The guards stepped back, almost pitying looks on their faces. They didn't seem that they wished to do this either- but their rules couldn't be broken. It was a means they had lived by for decades- even if they had grown fond of these little off worlders.

"Keith…" Lance whispers against his ear.

"You aren't going," Keith clings to his back,

"But Keith. I can't let them just take you away,"

"You said we would talk about this-! We'd come to an agreement…" he tells Lance, "This is nuts and I'm definitely not comfortable with it! Rashra could kill you!"

"Keith-"

"No! I can't- Lance no, I can't let you do this," he hisses, "I can't.

Feeling something breaking within his chest, Lance sucked in a painful breath and collapsed into Keith. He didn't want to do this. He had promised Keith to talk about this. To always try and agree before doing something rash and dangerous but…

He knew Keith would never agree to this. He was too stubborn to agree, and while Lance understood, and knows he wouldn't want Keith to do it either if their positions were switched… he couldn't bare the thought of them taking Keith from him.

They said he wouldn't go to Rashra, but that didn't mean he wouldn't go to someone else eventually. He was considered a prisoner of war still since they weren't equivalents.

The idea of Keith being forced to become someone else's equivalent was ten times more frightening to Lance then a challenge. Even if that challenge might lead to his death… He wanted to protect Keith.

"I'm so sorry," Lance whispered, "Dravla!" He yelled

The champion didn't hesitate to step forward after seeing the look in Lance's eyes. He reached forward, putting a hand on Keith's shoulder. Keith tensed and started to fight it. "Dravla! Don't touch me-"

Then, Lance's lips fell upon his own.

Keith's yells are swallowed by Lance's mouth as they share a kiss. Keith starts to scream when he realized that this kiss felt something along the lines of "Goodbye,"

Holding it as long as they could, Lance stepped back, avoiding Keith's attempt grab him,

"No…No!" Keith was lifted upward, arms pinned behind his back by Dravla. He was screaming, kicking and yelling, "Dravla! Let me go! Let me go!"

Lance turned and stepped towards the guards, brushing a tear from his eyes. They pressed their hands to Lance's shoulders, leading him out of the apartment and down the hall. Keith was calling his name till his voice cracked, pleading with him not to do this. Lance almost covered his ears, feeling hot tears burn his eyes.

The walk to the arena felt like a death march.

When he arrived, Tellru was there to greet him. She straightened, her gaze heavy and sorrowful.

"Tellru," he nods her, "I um.. I'm ready,"

"I'm sorry, Lance... I- if I could change this rule-"

"I know," he says quietly, "this isn't your fault,"

She puts a kind hand to his back, guiding him into the arena to get ready. "Think I'll make it?' Lance inquired. Tellru didn't answer as they entered the changing room, some armor already there and ready for him.

It felt very similar to the first time Lance had been here all those months ago when he was heading to his death to fight for Keith and his freedom. The difference now was that he could see. It made it a little less terrifying.

"Compared to the champions, how strong is Rashra?"

"Not as strong as Dravla. I would say he is at the level of the fourth champion," Tellru says as she helps Lance place on his armor.

Lance had defeated that champion blind… though he barely won that one.

"A warning. Rashra fights dirty. He may be strong, but he holds no honor in a fight," Tellru announces, "He will use your weaknesses and blinds spots against you. He will most likely aim for your glasses first. Be sure to keep a distance from him to avoid this."

"O-Okay..."

"As much as I dislike Rashra, Lance- I will not be able to interfere,"

Lance nodded, "...Tellru?"

"Yes?"

He licked his lips, not sure how to ask this, "There is a chance I could be killed, right?"

"I'm afraid so,"

"If I am- what will happen to Keith?"

"No harm will come to him," she grabbed Lance's shoulder, "And when I say this, I mean that even despite him being pure, he will not go to another Coeihn unless he chooses to. Dravla and I will make sure of this,"

"But Rashra- if he wins doesn't he-?"

"If you some how lose, I will challenge Rashra myself for him."

"You'll take Keith as your pure?" He snorts

"He is like my own son- no one would question that I don't make him an equivalent of mine," Tellru says trying to lighten the mood. "I will fight any other challenger after that to fend them off."

Lance felt relief, "Thank you, Tellru." in truth, the only amount of fear he had felt all day was Keith- the idea of something horrible happening to him if things went sour. Knowing he would have allies to back him up was comforting. When the time had come, Lance lifted his Bayard and moved to the door.

He paused to look over his shoulder at Tellru, smiling at her.

"I'm not saying I'm going to die but… if I do, can you make sure Keith can make it back to our team?" he requests.

Tellru nods. "I promise to do everything I can,"

"Thank you," with that, Lance turns and heads out the door.

He pauses when Tellru calls to him, "Lance!"

"Hmm?"

"One final thing. A blood fight, as mentioned before, is to the death. It will not be over until the other surrenders... or one of the competitors it dead."

"Are you saying I have to... kill him?" Lance felt cold.

Instead of answering, Tellru patted his shoulder, "Good luck, my friend."

With that, they went their separate ways. The last time he walked this hall, he had been blind, no true idea where he was going. He recognized the sound of his feet echoing against the ground- the approaching crowd- the sun on his skin when he stepped out into the arena.

It all reminded him of that first day he was here.

But things were different now. He wasn't blind. He could fight with confidence now, and he definitely wasn't going to lose.

Moving to the center of the arena, the Coeihns began to cheer for him. The place was packed. Tellru was right, almost everyone seemed to show up for this. He could even see King Manson and Prince Harri on the upper levels. Harri was waving at him, and Lance waves back, hoping he didn't look at nervous as he felt.

A second later, the gates on the other side open and a Coeihn dressed in heavy armor is sauntering out.

Lance hates him the moment he sees him and holds his ground as Rashra approaches, looming over him with a wicked smirk.

"Rashra," he grumbles.

("Blue Champion") Having heard the Coeihns call him that enough, Lance could recognize the title, but he knew Rashra meant it nothing more than a mockery in this instance. Knowing there would be any more conversation between them, he steps back and activates his Bayard.

"So…" he says, "Let's get started."

Above them, Manson lifts his head. There is a crowd-shared silence.

A second later, he lowers his hand, and the match begins.

* * *

 **... I don't even know what to say about this one.**

 **I really really don't**

* * *

 ** _Reviews:_**

 ** _Seamor:_** Seamor you sweet heart! Thank you so much! Okay okay, I'll stop being too much of a tease. I'll give you guys a little bit. There XD There you go. But I also gave you the ending of this chapter so... I'm sorry XD

 **Guest:** Thank you!

 **KnightOwl247:** Galra Keith is a thing. And the Galra side of him will actually play a huge role eventually with this story :3 bwahahahaha

 ** _Adraianna Agray:_** THANK YOU! That is so sweet! I like your thinking! Actually, I will be making a sequel to this story involving the team finding them and trying to adjust to the new Klance relationship :D

 **Zaffrebat17:** THANK YOU! I hope you liked this chapter too!

 **AngiMK:** YES! GOOD GRASSHOPPER!

 **Phoenix51:** I am such a tease! I'm sorry! XD (but also not sorry)

 **Pinkdoughnuts:**...hehe... heheheheheh. BWAHAHAHHAHA Yes. yes it does indeed say a lot about me. XD Thank you~ I'm so glad you like the chapter. embarrassed Keith is what I live for.

 **MickeyTRN:** It was difficult. 0.0 But I'm so glad you liked it in the end. It makes me so happy :D

 **Ewink18:** We're fam? ;-; Ewink. Thank you. I love writing about how much they have grown as people too :D One of the things I'm most excited for is for the team to find them and just see how much they have changed. How lance seems to have matures and Keith seems to have opened up a bit and what not :3

 **Hidansebabe530:** Oh my gosh, you did? Thank you so much ;-; I

 **Devil Wolf Girl:** I fangirl at my own writing when I'm typing it and get strange looks from my family all the time XD


	25. The Attack

**I ended up cutting this chapter in half for some reason. So much stuff happened I was thinking "It's not as long as I usually write, but that is a lot of different stuff going on so... I'll end it here for now" 0.0**

* * *

The world was screaming.

Or maybe's Keith voice was just piercing enough to make it seem that way.

"Let me go, Dravla!" He kicks, his heels catching along the shelves. Dravla backs them both up when the plates shatter along the floor.

"Keith, I can't do that. Not until you calm down," Dravla doesn't get an immediate response, but he doesn't need one. Keith answer him by biting his wrist. Yelling, Dravla's arm go slack enough for Keith to wiggle free.

"Did you just bite me?!" Dravla demanded, one guard the moment Keith's eyes flicker to the door. When he made a break for it, Dravla slid between them.

"Keith, stop!' he yells, "I can't let you go!"

"Get out of my way!"

Dravla catches his fist when Keith attempts to punch him and tosses him back, huffing, "I can do this all day, Keith."

"I need to get to him!"

"The challenge is absolute, Keith! If you interfere, you will automatically go to Rashra. None of us want that!"

"I don't care- I'm not letting Lance do this!"

"Well, he does! I just- I don't want Lance to do this either, Keith, but we have to trust he'll pull through,'

"Bull shit!" of course Keith knew that Lance could handle himself, but he was livid at the idea that Lance would have to fight for him- again. He didn't need protecting. If Rashra wanted a challenge to win him or whatever, then he should fight Keith, not Lance!

And Lance…

Lance had promised him, dammit!

How could one person feel so betrayed yet feel so worried for the betrayer at the same time? It was making him frustrated. It was making his emotions run haywire!

It made him…

It made him desperate.

Desperation was a dangerous thing to have.

In this state, it convinced Keith to lift one of the the table chairs. A second later Dravla curses when he chucks it.

"Keith! Knock it off!" He ducked again when a second chair was thrown at him. Feeling it was better to tie Keith down to something instead of letting him roam the room freely, Dravla started to approach him, his hands held out. "Keith," he says cautiously, like one would when moving towards a wild animal.

Keith quickly backs up into the kitchen, scanning it wildly. Half tempted to pull out his Bayard, but not willing to stab his friend in any way, he threw a few kitchen utensils at him. Dravla grumbles, demanding that Keith stop acting like an upset child.

It pissed Keith off enough to turn around and open the cabinet for something else. He spotted his next weapon of attack.

"I'm not a child!"

Dravla yelled when Keith suddenly turned, tossing a full bag of flour, or whatever it was called on this planet, into his face. It exploded upon impact, turning both Dravla and the surrounding kitchen stark white.

Blinded for just a moment, it was long enough for Keith to give the Coeihn a good sweep across the nose with his fist.

Dravla gagged as the fist connected, and his body lost its balance.

Taking that as a chance, Keith scrambled over him and made an escape for the door.

Dravla called for him and stumbled to his feet with little grace, looking like a snow giant with the flour covering his body.

"Why you little-" Half way down the hall and Keith could already hear Dravla pounding after him

What Keith had in speed, Dravla made up in the length of his legs, keeping a close distance to Keith the entire descent down the steps. "Keith!"

"Don't try and stop me!" He rounded the second pair of steps and threw himself out the door.

He knew where the Arena was- he just had to outrun Dravla there.

Not sure if he could do that, he gave his best and darted out into the streets.

They were eerily empty, with no Coeihn in sight for what seemed like miles. Tellru was correct in her assumption that everyone would be at this fight today. The only people he did manage to see from a distance were a few guards- who were most likely kept posted there due to work.

They didn't seem happy to be missing out on the challenge.

Tossing that thought aside, Keith weaved through alleyways, attempting to lose Dravla or slow him down by tossing over trashcans as he passed them. Dravla was persistent and seemed to have given similar chases before with his immense trashcan dodging skills.

He vaulted over them like some Olympic track star.

It was enough to catch Keith off guard, almost allowing Dravla the chance to snag him by the back of the shirt.

Luckily, Keith always managed to think quick on his feet, a ducked into a clothing store the second he passed it. He grab whatever he could get his hands on as he passed, tossing it back at Dravla.

"Throwing shoes?! Are you serious, Keith?!" Dravla demands as a pink slipper slaps his cheek. "Oohh," he growled, his voice deadly, officially pissed off.

Scrambling out through the back of the store, Keith had never run so fast in his life.

He just had to keep the pace till he could get to the Arena. Till he could get to Lance.

That beautiful, idiotic jerk who he was going to- to… Keith wasn't sure what he was going to do when he got there. Punch him? Tell him off? Kiss him?

He wasn't sure. Maybe all three?

That was an answer for the future, he supposed, expertly sliding down a bar when they got close to a staircase. Landing on his feet, he could see the top of the Arena over the buildings.

When he arrived, barreling down the steps like a mad man, he found himself pushed into the sea of Coeihns. He could hear Dravla calling from behind him and acted fast to push through the crowd, using his short height to keep out of Dravla's line of sight.

Almost there he squeezed between bodies and under elbows. Past children, just to scamper up the first incline where he could to peer into the arena.

Coeihns stretched out as far as the eye could see, taking up every square inch of the arena's upper levels. Following their line of sight the two challengers came before Keith's eyes.

A lump the size of Texas catches in Keith's throat the moment catches glimpse of the person responsible for his daily heartache.

Lance was panting, his arm slightly bruised and sweat pooling at his face. He seemed to be keeping Rashra at a distance, hoping to keep him far away to hold up an advantage with his Bayard.

To Keith, he looks more Coeihn than human, dressed in their armor, fighting their ridiculous challengers.

The final straw to get Keith's feet moving again is when Lance lifts his hands, pushing up his glasses. The notion was simple, nothing to really be drawn to, but Keith feels so much love at the sight. So much love that it's crushing him.

"Lance!"

The entire arena seems to freeze, staring at Keith like he is something to fear- something that shouldn't be there and all was lost now that he was.

Guards rush into action when he approaches, but Keith simply leaps over them, "Get out of my way!"

Had Keith cared about Rashra's existence even slightly, he might have noticed that the foul Coeihn was smirking. But he didn't, so he kept running. He didn't care, after all. He didn't care that if they were interrupted, Rashra would win by surrendered default and Keith would go to him.

Lance wouldn't die that way. Lance wouldn't have to kill that way. He wouldn't get hurt.

"Keith, stop!" Lance's eyes widened with panic when he realized what he was planning.

"Like hell I will-" Right as he was about to leap over the bars and into the arena, Tellru threw herself out of nowhere and tackled him. Keith hadn't even seen her approaching and didn't have enough time to prepare for her attack- Ending with them rolling onto the floor.

Dravla wasn't far behind him with his hand held to his still bleeding nose and the flour falling from his body with each step, "You sly little- Parlog pup!" he huffed, angry but unable to think straight

Pining Keith to the floor, the crowd flinches when he roars with rage. He kicked and screamed against them, sounding like a caged beast that was being kept from it's meal.

Lance had to turn his head away- fighting the urge to simply drop his weapon, run, and take Keith into his arms- but he couldn't do that right now.

"Tellru!" Keith screeched.

"Calm yourself!" she commanded. She lifted him, pinning his arms behind his back, holding him tight. He fought against her, at least grateful to be able to peer into the arena with this hold.

He could see Lance, shifting around in the sand, dashing to the right when Rashra lunged at him.

The Coeihn attempted to make a grab for him, but Lance reacted quickly, swinging upward.

The crowd cheered when Lance's bayard collided against Rashra's chin. The uproar of cheering at the sight made it obvious who they wished to win. Apparently, but not all that surprising, Rashra wasn't really a crowd favorite.

With a wobble to his knees, Rashra was gripping his jaw. He rubbed it and quietly reached down to the ground. Taking a handful of sand, he leaped to Lance again. Not close enough to make a grab for him, Rashra tossed the sand instead.

Like a small cloud, it enveloped Lance's face, and the poor paladin stumbled back. He screamed as it spread into his eyes.

("Dirty move, Rashra!") Dravla bellowed from the sidelines as the rest of the crowd began to boo.

Lance's palm hit the dirt before the rest of his body did, sounding with a horrid smack. He rolled, shutting his eyes when they burned and rubbed at them frantically.

Lance couldn't see, suddenly thrown back into the first few days he was here. It made his feet go stiff with fear, his breathing coming out ragged.

A voice, loud and angry resonates amongst the crowd,

"Lance! Get up!" Tellru is barely holding Keith by the railings. His legs were thrown over them, holding on with the heel of his foot to try and get some leverage to throw himself over it and into the arena.

It was taking everything Dravla and Tellru had to contain him.

"Move!"

And Lance does, barely rolling out of the way before Rashra slams his hammer down on his head.

Gripped in a tight fear, Lance gasped for whatever air he could in this overbearing darkness. He couldn't see the threat- but he could feel it. The smell alone was disorienting, reminding him of death.

Was he going to die?

"Lance! Back up!" Keith's voice echoes a second warning. Lance clings to his words and scrambles to his feet. He can hear the faint puffing of Rashra's breath when he gets closer and runs the opposite direction.

His feet hobble in the sand, making his balance uneven. The only plus side was that Rashra was running in a similar manner, giving Lance just enough time to try and clean out his eyes He seems able to get enough out to see Rashra when he approaches again and lifts his Bayard.

With a heavy clunk, he catches Rashra's hammer against the side of his Bayard when he swings it, blocking it from hitting his side.

Lance grunts, then fires. Rashra was quick and lifts his shield, stumbling back at the recoil of the bullet against the steel.

No one kept track of how long this battle played out. Minutes, hours- the time was lost to all. Their attention never once left the ring, the ending always unsure. Lance was quick on his feet, able to avoid Rashra easily. Rashra, on the other hand, was able to deflect or dodge the attacks of Lance's bayard with his shield.

It seemed like a 50-50 chance that both could win or lose.

But then, Lance's foot suddenly slipped. Not used to fighting in sand, his footing was unstable, leaving him tumbling to the ground. With that single instance, the tides were turned to Rashra's favor, and he took the chance to strike.

The entire crowd flinched when Rashra's war hammer swung across Lance's chest, shattering the upper metal with such force that chunks flew in different directions.

The air was knocked from Lance's lungs- his own chest burning with pain when a rib or two cracked beneath. Tossed in the air by a few decent feet, he hit the ground hard.

He gasps, clawing at his own shirt to breath.

The world becomes nothing but white noises and colors dancing over his eyes.

Rashra was upon him a second later, kicking his bayard to the side.

He gripped Lance firmly by the collar of his shirt, lifted him, then slammed him back into the ground. The back of his skull collided with the sand- not enough to break it, but enough to make him see stars. This happens again, his vision too disoriented to fight against it.

Like a wave of whiplash, Lance was losing focus.

Rashra was going to win this fight...

Above them, Keith felt tears prick his eyes as Lance's body was lifted, rammed downward, lifted again, and repeat.

If Rashra wanted to, he could end this fight right now, but he was toying with Lance, drawing out the pain.

Keith was screaming, pulling at Tellru's grip, pleading with her to release him. She bit her lower lip, her grip tightening and apologies quietly whispered from her lips.

Keith sobbed for Lance, and somewhere through the dizziness of the blue paladin's mind, and the throbbing pain of his chest repeatedly slammed into the ground, Lance hears him.

It drove him forward, his fingers moving on their own.

Feeling the dirt against his fingertips, searching for anything he could us, he felt something. There was something there.

It was sharp with jagged edges that sliced at the skin along his palm. It would be too late if he didn't act soon, so without considering what he was grabbing, he wrapped his fingers around the object.

It cut away at his hand as he lifted it, driving it into the Coeihn above him.

He would later learn that he had pierced the junction that connected Rashra's neck and shoulder. He had used a chunk of his own chest plate when it had splintered apart moments before when Rashra slammed his hammer against him.

It must have hurt from the way Rashra was howling, releasing Lance's neck and falling back.

His burning lungs could suddenly breath and he was gasping for breath. He rolled onto his hands and knees, disoriented.

Rashra was next to him, clutching his bleeding shoulder. He had seen Coeihns bleed before, but it was only now in the bright daylight, that he truly noticed the color of it.

Their blood wasn't red like he first thought- but more of an orange color. It was odd…

Taking that thought into his mind, Lance slowly reached through the sand to grip the end of his bayard. Moved by something he couldn't explain, he lifted it while Rashra was distracted. When Rashra turned to hit him with his hammer, Lance beat him to the punch and clogged him on the side of the head.

Rashra crumbled to the floor, unmoving.

The crowd let out a small gasp, drawing quiet. With baited breath, they watched Lance stagger to his feet, his breathing seemingly the only sound within the area.

Tellru was crying, her grip changing to hugging Keith, burying her face into the back of his shoulder in joy. Keith was choking on his own breath, his mind torn between cheering and staying quiet to see what Lance did next.

The match wasn't over, after all. It wasn't over until one of the challengers lay dead on the floor.

The Coeihns were waiting for this, knowing that Lance's victory was assured at this point.

With a lift of his head, Lance aimlessly looked to their expectant gazes, his own eyes distant. Almost like he had forgotten where he was for a moment, he tripped a little, catching himself to look at Rashra's collapsed form.

Recalling what he was here to do, Lance lifted his bayard and aimed it to fire at Rashra's skull. All he had to do was pull the trigger and he won.

Lance was motionless.

A few seconds lead to a minute, then longer. The crowd was on the edge of their seats, sharing confused murmurs at his hesitation.

"No…." Lance's hand lowers, and a sense of clarity washes over his eyes. "I…" he lifted his gaze high, looking to the Coeihn's King, "Manson… I can't," he tells him.

The crowd turns to their King, waiting for his reaction. When he leaned forward, everyone seemed to hold their breath "Why is that, Blue Champion?"

Lance swallows, his breathing hard and eyes wild with exhaustion, "I can't," he repeats. "Where I'm from, this isn't how we do things. We don't kill each other. I-It's wrong," his voice could hardly be heard, but Manson seems to have understood what he was trying to say.

Slowly, the King brings his hands together, resting his chin against them curiously. "How are things settled in your world then?"

"We- I dunno. We fight? We argue and talk and maybe sometimes we throw a punch or two- but it's wrong to kill the other, no matter how angry they made you,"

Manson leans back, looking to his left to Harri. Harri says something in the Coeihn tongue and Manson nods.

He turns back to look at Lance.

The next set of motions happened too fast for Lance to ever fully understand.

He remembers seeing the green of the King's eyes- can see the way they flash from calm to shock- then pain.

Something heavy, possibly metal, cracked against Lance's skull.

The world turned black.

There was maybe a scream, a warm liquid pouring down the side of his face, and then the ground shook.

As his body hit the floor, Lance felt cold. So very cold.

And then nothing.

Nothing at all.

* * *

000-000

Keith might have screamed.

The sound of a bomb crashing outside of the arena drowned out any noise after Lance fell.

Keith's first reaction is to pull out his Bayard, and slice the throat of the Coeihn responsible for this, but he doesn't.

His legs are paralyzed by shock. A shudder of revulsion runs down his spine next. Then panic, followed closely by blood-curdling fury.

His attacker wasn't that surprising, and perhaps Keith should have seen it coming that Rashra would have only take a few seconds to rouse himself from unconsciousness.

But to attack someone from behind, after the match was considered over- something boiled in Keith's stomach that he had never felt before.

It both scared and fueled him into pulling from Tellru's arms. He was reaching for the bars, lifting a leg over them to enter the arena and kill Rashra himself.

And then- he recalled something vital.

The bomb. There was a bomb. A moment ago a bomb had crashed down from the sky, and the Coeihns were in a panic.

No one, not even the King himself, could stop what happened next.

An attack.

A ship, one larger than any of them had ever seen, had emerged from the clouds.

Too caught up in the sight of the Blue champion crumbling to the floor, they couldn't have prepared for the robotic soldiers that started to fall from the heavens.

Keith couldn't believe his eyes.

Those weren't Coeihns. Or Traveks. No, these were different but terribly familiar.

"Galra…" he murmured quietly.

All out war broke out the second the first Sentinel touched the ground. Keith reached for his Bayard, and screamed over his shoulder. "Tellru!"

She turned, her face pale with shock.

"Get Ruru out of here!" he motioned to her, tossing himself over the bars. "I'm going for Lance!"

"Lala…" Ruru's wide eyes were shining with tears.

Tellru was lifting her into her arms, gripping Dravla's shoulder tight. He squeezed her back before following after Keith's lead, not wanting him to run into this alone.

Together, they stormed into the arena, fighting off Sentinels as they went. Hoping to get to Lance before things got to out of hand, they charge the field with little mercy.

Gaining ground to the center of the arena, they could see Rashra. He was standing next to Lance's form, staring up at the sky, like he was caught in a daze.

"Rashra!" Dravla called to him, "(Snap out of it and pick up your weapon!")

Rashra turned, blinking rapidly. Turning slowly, he lifted his large hammer, watching Dravla and Keith approach with calculating eyes.

"Lance…?" Keith didn't care much for Rashra, his only thoughts on getting Lance out of here. Worried for a moment for how still he was, Keith knelt down to him, gently placing a hand on his face. He brushed his fingers to his soft cheeks, tapping them lightly.

Lance groaned ever so slightly at the touch and Keith smiled in relief. He was alive.

Grateful for that, the moved to lift Lance upward into his arms. He was stopped when a foot connected with his chest.

Startled, Keith fell back, crashing against Dravla. Stunned, they blink up at Rashra in shock.

He barely bats an eye, even daring an innocent smile towards them. Then, like he wished to piss Keith off, he wiggled his finger, silently telling them that touching Lance wasn't an okay thing to do.

"Rashra…?" Dravla says, his throat dry.

The two gasp when a few more sentinels come up from behind. Expecting them to attack, they pause next to Rashra instead.

They surround him like body guards.

Dravla blinks rapidly, then weakly points to him, "(You… Rashra what is going on? Why are they-?")

("Come now, Dravla. Surely you cannot be this big of a fool to not see the obvious?") Rashra shakes his head.

Dravla lowers his hands, eyes wide, "...You brought them here,"

"Guilty as charged," Rashra speaks English and Keith understood what this means

"You're working with the Galra," his voice is livid

"Traitor," Dravla seeths. "You traitor! How could you do this!?"

"The Galra have power," Rashra shrugs calmly. "The Traveks realized this early on."

"The bombing a few weeks ago-" Keith grits his teeth, "The Galra helped the Traveks pull that off,"

"Now you're catching on," Rashra snickers. "All I had to do was get everyone in one place. Who would have thought that challenging someone like this would be enough to lure everyone together like this," he looks down at Lance with disdain. "But it played out wonderfully," he motions upward towards the upper levels of the arena.

To Dravla's horror, the Galra had managed to surround the King.

"Manson!" he cried up to him. Manson glanced over his shoulder in a panic, making sure to hide Harri behind him.

Rashra chuckles at the sight, musing, "It was so hard to lure that pampered King out of his castle. With his power over the defense system, our ships could never get close without being shot down. I should actually thank you all for making this sorry excuse of a paladin so popular amongst the Coeihns. It made it so much easier to gather everyone when I challenged him. And now we have the King…"

Above, the sentinels lifted their guns.

With a torn expression, Manson slowly lifted his arms in a surrender position, knowing he wouldn't be able to get out of this and protect Harri at the same time.

A few Galra pushed forward, taking him by the arms and hitting him to the floor. Harri cried out for his father before a Galran soldier lifted him by the back of his shirt.

"Don't hurt him!" Dravla made a move to run and help them, but Rashra caught his attention.

"Ah ah, I don't think so, Fifth champion." he motions downward to Lance. With his foot, Rashra rolled him over, pressing his heel to the back of Lance's neck, threatening to break it in two if Dravla tried anything.

"Lance!" Dravla shot out an arm to stop Keith. "Come over here and settle this like a man!" Keith roared at him, pushing against Dravla's grip

Rashra tilted his head, "I think I'm good,"

"You coward," Dravla hissed

Rashra shrugs, "When was war ever fair, Dravla? Things were going so well till he showed up." he sighs down at the unconscious blue paladin, "I admit though, he put up a better fight than I first expected him to," reaching down, Rashra gripped Lance around the back of his neck, then lifted upward. Lance's body followed, hanging limply within the Coeihn's grip.

"Don't touch him!" Keith ran forward before Dravla could stop him, slicing the first Sentinel in half then catching the sword of the other with his bayard. He pushed against its strength, forcing it to back up.

In a reckless act, Keith broke out into a run for Rashra. They were outnumbered, and Keith should have evaluated the situation before charging in but… when has he ever really thought threw a plan?

His mind was too caught up on just getting to Lance to notice the fast approaching Sentinels. They were posted above, within the stands, their guns aimed downward.

One fired.

Keith saw it too late.

Prepared for the bullet to hit his lower stomach, possibly killing him, he felt a hand shove him to the side.

With enough force, he was pushed out of the way of the attack, left to watch the beam delve into the skin of Dravla's upper thigh as he took the bullet for him.

When Dravla crumbled to the floor, Keith screamed his name. His voice was lost to the sound of gunfire around him, barely even a whisper to the chaos.

He was careless.

"Dravla?" Keith knelt next to him, shaking his shoulder.

Blood was drizzling onto the sand around Dravla'a stiff form. He was curling into himself, the pain of his leg making him immobile. Sentinels were upon them.

Keith stumbled to his feet to stop them, but found himself surrounded a moment later. He did his best to fight through, but there was only so much one paladin could do against an entire army.

As one of the robot's hands chopped against the back of his neck, Keith's body went numb. He started to fall, his vision failing him.

The sand was soft enough to take most of the fall, but he was forced to peer out at the damage. The Arena was set ablaze, screaming echoing in its wake.

Coeihns were in a panic, rushing out of the arena or taking the Galra sentinels head on. There was nothing he could do to stop this.

Weakly, he lifted his hand out to Lance, mumbling his name.

If only he had done more.

* * *

0000-000

When Keith woke up, he was in a cell.

Cuffs were wrapped around his wrists, keeping him from spreading his arms too much.

In a panic, he sat up and scrambled to his feet, which were thankfully uncuffed, allowing him to roam his cell.

Rushing to the bars, Keith growled out a curse.

He had been captured. What was worse, Lance didn't seem to be in this cell and was most likely somewhere else.

Instead, Keith was squished with two other Coeihns. One is looking at him with wide eyes. He glares back.

They say something he doesn't recognize.

"What?" Keith grumbles.

Swallowing, looking more like a citizen than a Coeihn soldier, he motions for Keith to come closer. The Red paladin isn't too willing at first, but changes his mind when he hears someone call his name.

"Keith…" Dravla is collapsed on the floor, the second Coeihn at his side to stop the bleeding along his leg.

"Dravla!" Keith dashes to him, sliding next to him. The sight of the wound along his leg isn't pretty, and is burned horribly from the blast of the laser. But the other Coeihn seems to have fixed it up well with what they had on them.

"Dravla I… I'm so sorry," Keith stammered at the sight. It was his fault. If he hadn't rushed in then Dravla wouldn't have-

"It's okay, Keith," Dravla pats his shoulder, "I would have done the same for Tellru. We can't focus on what went wrong right now. We gotta focus on getting out of this mess."

Feeling like he was suddenly talking with Shiro, Keith felt a wave of calm washing over him. Amazed at how at ease he felt when he was with Dravla, Keith nods, "Right. Dravla, where are we?"

"Aboard one of their ships. The Galra,"

"The Galra?" Keith began to recognize the outlay of the ship now. "What about everyone else? The King?Lance?!"

"We don't know what happened to them." Dravla grunts, sitting up only to wince at his leg, "They wouldn't have killed them though. At least not yet."

"W-What about Tellru?" Keith asks.

"She is alive, I can feel her,' Dravla tells him. "And if she is alive, I know Ruru would be fine." he smiles. "I don't know if they were captured or managed to escape though."

Keith tries to wrap his head around the situation. The Galra would most likely want Lance and him alive- and if the Travek's were really working with the Galra, then they would most likely want the King alive as well. At least long enough to gain something from it.

For now they just had to work on escaping. Speaking on the "They' of that sentence...

"Who is this?" Keith motioned to the third person within this cell. He was a petite looking guy, with curly black hair and wide eyes. He shifted nervously under Keith's gaze, staring at his feet.

"Dizzen," Dravla announces,"A Coeihn citizen. He is a teacher within a few learning facilities."

Keith nods awkwardly to him. Getting back to business, wishing he still has his bayard on him, he asked, "Did you see where they took the others?"

"No. We are the only ones on this side of the ship."

Keith was puzzled at that and got up to peek outside the cell again. "There are hardly any guards around," Keith notes.

"It's been that way for a while." Dravla tells him.

"Were we the only ones captured?"

"No, they took others. A lot more. For some reason, they took them somewhere else and left us here,"

Keith turns to look at Dravla, feeling uneasy, "Why?" he frowns.

"Your guess is as good as mine. They took both soldiers and Citizens to a different location, but left us three in particular here. The 5th champion, the Paladin of Voltron, and a Coeihn teacher. It would almost make sense why they have us together, but it doesn't make sense to why Dizzen is here."

At the sound of his name, Dizzen tilts his head to Dravla, and the fifth champion quickly explains in their native tongue.

Dizzen says something softly, gripping his shirt in a habit to calm his nerves. Dravla turns to him so suddenly that Keith asks, "What? What did Dizzen say?"

"He says that when he was taken here, it was by Rashra's orders."

"Then we are here because of Rashra." Keith concludes.

"Which is never a good thing," Dravla grunts, "Yay for us," he gives Keith a serious look, "I suggest we prepare for something horrible."

"Right," Keith nods, looking back out to the cells. His thoughts travelled to Lance. Was he okay?

Was everyone okay?

The last time had seen Lance, he had been hit unconscious. He was too vulnerable right now. If Keith could, he would break this bars in half and go running to him- but he made the mistake of being reckless before.

He to be smart about this, for everyone's sake.

But man, this sure would be a lot easier if Red were here.

* * *

 **Booommmm baammmmmmm~**

 **This chapter was a roller coaster~**

* * *

Review:

 **AirenLag:** Oh my gosh, thank you so much. I'm so happy to hear that you liked this story! ;-; It makes me so happy! Yes, Rashra is horrible. A Tellru/Dravla do have horrible timing XD

 **Guest:** Whole other playing field? / Oh my goodness, thank you so much for saying that. I'm so honored!

 **Seamor:** Seamor my friend, once again you review just makes me smile so much XD But yes, I totally feel your point. I felt a little rushed with it myself. When I have the time, I'll definitely go back and revise that. 0.0 Maybe I just go so impatient myself with how long I prolonged it that I just rushed right into it! XD Who knows. But thank you so much! I don't think I could ever kill of Keith and lance XD

 **Guest:** Boom! BAAM! PLOT TWIST CONFIRMED!

 **Ewink18:** My gosh XD You aren't a weirdo! You are amazing and you make me smile so much with your review! I hope you liked this chapter as well!

 **Phoenix51:** Aww you are so sweet, thank you so much / I'm so glad to hear you like this story

 **Adrianna Agray:** Thank you so much! The sequel is going to be angsty though- just a warning 0.0

 **KnightOwl247:** THEY WERE SO CLOSE INDEED!

 **AngiMK:** asdflhasdglharwg;has THANK YOU SO MUCH! I hope I did the action scenes justice!

 **DeathLord-92:** THANK YOU SO MUCH! I HOPE YOU LIKED THIS CHAPTER!

 **Pinkdoughnuts:** hehehe thank you so much XD Roller coaster chapters are some of the best chapters to write. I really hope you liked this chapter as well.

 **Devil Wolf Girl:** Oh my gosh, yes I know 0.0 I don't know what is up with fanfiction. it does that to me ALL the time! I'll sumbit it to doc manager, and then it will just repeat some lines in the story automatically. I go through it and make sure it doesn't, but when I save it, it just does it again to different spots! It's so hard to make sure it doesn't happen. If you see it happen again, I'm sorry :(

 **Zaffrebat17:** Oh my gosh XD Your review made me laugh so hard I started crying. My sister thought I was dying! Thank you so mcuh!


	26. Dying Question

When Lance woke up, the first thing he could feel was the sense of dangling. He was floating, his wrists cuffed above his head as his feet hung aimlessly below him. He seemed to be chained to some wall, abandoned in a silent room.

He groaned at the pain coming from his side and croaked out, "H-Hello?" He was alone, trapped in some cell. Panic enveloped him and he tugged on the chains.

Blood was dried along the side of his face and neck, most likely from a heavy gash along his skull.

It was a struggle to remember how he ended up here, only recalling waking up this morning with Keith beside him.

"Ah, you're awake," A voice spoke from the darkness. Jumping at the sound, Lance inhaled sharply.

"Who's there?"

"Calm yourself, Blue Paladin," A Coeihn emerged from the corner of the room, their arms crossed and smile wicked. Lance recognizes him instantly.

"R...Rashra?"

"Greetings," he bows ever so slightly, almost mockingly.

"You… speak English?" Lance blinked blearily. "Wha- how?" he is looking around, unable to remember much. He woke up, then…. Guards. Guards took him to the fight. He fought Rashra. Did he lose?

"What happened? Where are we?" he croaked out. He scanned the room, feeling that it seemed kind of familiar.

"Aboard a Galra ship," Rashra leans against the wall casually, looking at his nails. "Did you know you have quite a price on top of your head? Would make any person rich for the rest of their lives,"

"Galra… How did we end up-?"

"They came to pick you up," Rashra smiles, rather enjoying Lance's dumbfounded confusion. "I told them you were within the city."

"...H-How are you involved with the Galra?" Lance shakes his head, not understanding.

"I wasn't involved with them at first," Rashra tells him, "But they knew my employers."

Lance's head is too fuzzy for all these confusing reveals and leadless words, "I don't- what the hell is going on, Rashra? Where is Keith?!"

"Impatient," the Coeihn frowns, "You should be grateful I'm the one in here and not the Traveks. They wouldn't be as calm as I am. You would most likely already be dead- though I'm considering the idea." he pushes up Lance's glasses for him, smiling, "But I need you alive."

Lance shakes his head to knock his hand away, "Why are you doing this, Rashra? Why are you helping the Traveks?! Aren't they your mortal enemy or something?"

"That would insinuate I'm on some sort of team or something. I don't fight for either side, being that I'm not fully part of either- though the Traveks do hold more power." he shrugs.

"What do you mean?"

"I myself am only half Coeihn, though my genetics fall more to their appearance," he motions to himself as if he's disgusted. "My other half was much more promising, following the Travek bloodline,"

"You're half Travek…?"

"Now you're catching on," Rashra gave him a clap

"The Traveks… Y-You worked for them?" When Rashra does nothing but nod, Lance guesses, "You were a spy for them," Lance was beginning to follow this whole story, "You've been lying to your own King- your own people-" Lance accused him. "How could you do that?!"

"Coeihns are too soft of a race," Rashra grumbles, "Traveks are stronger, faster- far superior.

"The Coeihns only wanted peace!"

"A fools dream. War brings power, profit-"

"It brings death! Tragedy! You lose everything during a war!"

"Only the weak do, and we have no place for those who can't survive on their own," Rashra turns away from him. "Such as yourself. How did such a weak creature like you become a paladin of Voltron?" Rashra inquires, honestly curious.

Flinching at his stare, Lance frowns, "I-I'm strong."

"Hardly," Rashra scoffs, "You've been nothing but protected since the moment you arrived. First by the fifth champion and that horrid translator, then the King, then by your so-called _equivalent._ It seems to be a trend that all three of those groups are connected in someway," he sighs. "Even that stupid child got in the way when I hired those three idiots."

"Three…" Lance's mind wandered. Rashra's words could have meant anything, but Lance felt he knew what he was talking about. And it made his chest churn with anger, "You were the one who hired those Coeihns,' Lance murmured, "The ones who tried to have me killed,"

"They were close too. I simply hadn't accounted for Dravla's retched daughter to be caught up in it," Rashra sighs, shaking his head in disappointment.

"You… That was you!" Lance attempts to kick ad him and Rashra steps back. "People died because of you!"

"I believe the correct term is that people died because of _you_ ," Rashra corrects and Lance cuts off. "You were the one who shot one of them, after all."

"S...Shut up," Lance tells him, "I never- I never meant to-"

"Oh, but you did. You killed a Coeihn in cold blood." Rashra narrows his eyes, "Yet somehow, you can manage to do that, but you still can't win against the 5 champions on your own."

Lance inhales sharply, his breathing coming out ragged, "W-What?"

"I know that you never beat Dravla within the arena the day you attempted for citizenship. He allowed you to win. You are without honor, blue paladin,"

Lance narrows his eyes, watching Rashra's moves carefully as he strolled across the room. "Me?" he growled, "Have you listened to yourself since coming in here? You've betrayed your people, hurt innocent lives! You even tried to- to force Keith into some unwanted equivalency! Your sick!"

"As if an off worlder has any right to talk about equivalency. You couldn't even work up the courage to claim your pure! You have no bond with him!

"We aren't like Coeihns you idiot! We don't have an equivalent bond!" Lance tugged against his chains at his wrists furiously

Rashra pauses, curious, "You don't? Hmmm…." he taps his chin, "How odd. That almost makes things complicated. But I'm a patient man to these things." he sneers, "Breaking him is but a matter of time,"

"Him? You mean-" Lance gasps in horror, "You touch Keith and I swear I'll kill you! Keith would never go with someone like you! He would never-!"

The punch Lance received to his face was unexpected, striking his jaw with enough force that Lance could taste blood in his mouth. Spitting it out at the side, Lance lifted his head to glare at Rashra in defiance.

"I'm quite sick of others taking what should belong to me," Rashra grips Lance's chin tightly, lifting it to glare at him. Lance grunts, narrowing his eyes back. "First the King, then that witch Tellru, now you."

Not even sure what he means, Lance grumbles, "What the hell are you talking about now?"

"I used to follow in the Coeihns ways, you know. I believed that once you find a possible equivalent match, one you find suitable, they shall be yours and yours alone." his grip tightened enough that Lance feared his jaw might crack under the pressure. "I found one, the perfect one. They were weaker than most, but oh, their beautiful was immeasurable," he tilts his head to the side.

Lance leans back a little, disgusted when Rashra sighs dreamily.

A second later, his voice drops an octave, to something darker, " _Than,_ they were taken. Won over by the future King of the Kingdom, Manson."

Lance blinks cautiously at this deranged man, slowly saying, "M-Manson? Then, you're talking about... Kac'ela? You wanted Manson's equivalent to be yours?"

"Of course Kac'ela would choose Manson- most would be a fool not to. The power you would receive, the wealth-"

Lance didn't feel that was quite right. Tellru and Dravla talked so fondly of Kac'ela. He sounded like the kind of person who wouldn't be with someone for political power- or any kind of power- he sounded like someone who loved Manson honestly and truthfully.

"Manson swept them away from me, putting him out of my reach. Of course, at that time, Kac'ela was not the only one on my radar. I even looked to Dravla. He was strong, the fifth champion- the perfect equivalent to match me."

Lance quietly muttered, "Gross" under his lips, listening to Rashra with a sour expression.

"Then Tellru came into the picture. Once again, the equivalent I wished to be mine was taken. By weak and incapable scum!"

Lance wanted to punch him for saying such a thing about Tellru and Manson, but held back. "So you ended up not getting what you wanted. Boo hoo for you,"

"It was a shame…" Rashra agreed. "For them."

A chill was running up his spine when Rashra smiled.

"Perhaps Kac'ela would still be alive today if he had just chosen correctly."

"Wait…" Lance feels his chest tightening. "...What?" Rashra doesn't answer immediately, so Lance pushes on, "What do you mean by that Rashra? What did you do?"

Rashra was mumbling, caught in his memories, "It wasn't easy sneaking those Travek's into the castle, but was there any doubt I couldn't? But the way that bomb went off within the royal bedroom… It was quite a sight. It was just a shame that King hadn't been in there with his Equivalent when it went off." he boasts himself, "No one even suspected that their own head of the royal guard would be responsible for such a feat. The whole Kingdom was in an uproar after his death. It was quite a shame for him to go. He was so beautiful," Rashra tsks. "But he made his choice when he agreed to be Manson's Equivalent instead of mine. The fool even managed to live on after Kac'ela's passing. Of course, Dravla is a much harder person to get rid of than I first anticipated. No matter how much I try, he manages to evade my attempts. Even managed to foil my attempts to get rid of you"

So that was how it went, was it?

The reason for all this suffering...

"It was because of you…" Lance can feel his stomach twisting as Rashra talks. "King Manson's equivalent died because of you... Harri lost his father... because of you!"

Rashra's gaze remains unchanged, indifferent to Lance's understanding of the situation. "I gave him the opportunity to choose me, and he still decided to go to that pathetic excuse for a King,"

"You no good-" Lance lifted his foot, shocking them both when he managed to catch Rashra by the chin with his heel. Stumbling back, Rashra held his chin in shock.

Lance roared at him, "All this time-! Dravla has had to go through assassination attempts- he's had to fear for his life and the lives of his family for years! King Manson lost the love of his life! You are nothing but a murderer, Rashra! No person would ever be the equivalent of you!"

Slowly, Rashra rises to his feet, his eyes dark with rage. "You really shouldn't have done that,"

Lance doesn't even flinch when Rashra's fist connects with his jaw again. He wasn't going to give this creep the satisfaction of that.

"Do your worse," he spit at him. "You can act all mighty- but what I say is true. No one would ever be with scum like you." Taking a few more punches to the face, and even a kick to the stomach, Rashra backed away from the panting blue paladin. "...T-That all?" he forces a smirk

Rashra narrows his eyes, "Truly, a shame about you, Paladin." he seethes, "Your skin and blue eyes make you quite a prize- but your voice and expressions- a very intolerable nuisance,"

"At least I'm not ugly like you," another punch to the face, but to Lance, it was worth it.

"You know…" Rashra growls out, "There is very few who catch my eye, and I am even surprised with myself that the human, Keith I believe you said his name was, has captivated me so." There is a dark look in his eyes as he says this, gauging Lance for a reaction, "How lucky am I that you have yet to claim him. The satisfaction of doing so, then showing you the results, will be quite pleasing,"

Lance tries to kick him again, "Don't you dare…!"

"Hold your tongue," Rashra swipes his hand out, slapping Lance across the face. Biting off a cry of pain, Lance grunts at him. "I gave the Galra what they wanted. I've caught them their paladins, and in exchange, they allow me the time I wish to have my way with the three of my choosing."

Lance huffs a few times, puzzled, "Three?"

"The Red paladin, Dravla, and a young teacher with black hair. Quite the looker, so I couldn't help myself," Rashra's lips curl to something twisted. "I've requested them personally. While I don't know about humans, Coeihns have this natural instinct to connect on a very _deep_ level when they are mated. They may already be equivalents to someone, but it only takes one time with another to grow a similar bond."

Lance's blood ran cold, "You wouldn't dare,"

"They are already waiting for me," Rashra is turning for the door, "This is where we go our separate ways, blue paladin. Oh, but just so you don't feel left out, I heard there were a few Galra who thought you quite fetching…"

Lance choked, "Excuse me? Don't-" he frantically pulls on his bindings, "Rashra!" he calls for him, "Don't you dare touch any of them! Rashra!" he cries fall to deaf ears as the door is closed, leaving him to his lonely cell. " _Rashra!"_

* * *

 _ **0000-0000**_

If Lance were here, Keith thought to himself, he'd probably sing a little tune to lift their depressing spirits. Probably a silly song too, like that song he is always humming when they go to take a bath.

Something about coconuts or something.

" _I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts~ There they are standing in a row~ Big ones, Smalls ones, some as big as your head~ You give 'em a twist, a flick of your wrist-"_

Missing Lance, and caught in the memory, recalling how Lance would twirl in the water, uncaring and wonderful, Keith doesn't even realize he is humming said song, tapping his finger to his leg.

"I don't think I've ever heard you hum before," Dravla tells him with a little smile.

Tensing, Keith clears his throat, "I was just- I was thinking of Lance. He is always singing that song. It's super catchy- Annoyingly catchy," he insists.

"Right," Dravla snorts. "I'm not judging."

'You look like you are," Keith narrows his eyes. Dravla makes an innocent face.

"I'm not," he grins.

Keith grumbles at him, glancing down to Dravla's wound, "How is your leg?" he asks

"Kind of numb," Dravla tilts his head back and sighs, "...You think the King is alright?"

"I don't know. How do you think Lance is…?"

Dravla shrugged, "We can only hope for the best at this point." he stretches his arms over his head, "How is our 'oh so great escape plan' working out?"

"Would be great if we could figure out a way to get out of this cell," Keith admits. He had tried to put his hand to the panel, hoping his Galra genetics would allow him to open it, but it didn't seem to work.

They must have learned after a while that not every Galra could be trusted within their ranks.

"I'm not sure I could be much help anyway," Dravla sighs at him. When Dizzen spoke, Dravla says something back.

"What did he say?" Keith asks.

"He is wondering if it is even possible to escape."

Keith looks Dizzen directly in his eyes when he says, "There is always a way,"

Dravla translates for him, and the Coeihn teacher's eyes widen, nodding sheepishly to Keith, finding his determination admiring.

Dravla smiles, "We just gotta figure out how to get out of here-"

"Shh," Keith shushes him, hearing the sound of footsteps, "Someone's coming,"

Jumping to his feet, Keith readied himself as someone came into view.

"Hello~" they peeked their head a little closer, grinning at them through the cell bars.

"Rashra," Dravla realize, venom dripping from his words, "You traitor. How dare you show your face to me! How could you do this!"

"It's quite simple," Rashra is reaching towards his belt, "I give the Galra info, capture a paladin or two for them, and they give me what I want. Childs play," he says casually enough to make Keith's blood boil.

"Where is Lance?" he demands.

"Elsewhere," Rashra clicked some strange device attached to his belt. A moment later, the bars of the cell disappeared, giving Rashra enough time to step in before reactivating. Keith held his breath, eyeing the device.

Perhaps he's just found his way out of this hellhole. He just had to get it from Rashra somehow.

"If you touched so much as one hair on Lance's head, I swear-"

"You'll do what? You've already lost," Rashra snorts, "The Galra have him now. What happens to him is up to them. You three, however, have a slightly different role to play,"

Keith isn't sure he wants to know what he means by that, but asks anyway, "What are you talking about?"

"I've been a very patient man," he says in a pitying and dramatic tone, "Lonely, scaling the tower of power alone. I require- companionship. Something to fill my free time with,"

"Get a hobby then," Dravla grunts.

"I think I'll seek out an Equivalent instead," Rashra's lips curl, "I've already spotted three very worthy candidates," he looks them over like a beast seeking out its prey. Keith can't help but step away from him in shock.

The poor Coeihn Dizzen is obvious to what Rashra had just insinuated since he did not understand the human language. Keith tugged on his sleeve to pull him back, knowing no one deserved just a sick fate.

"Never," he spits at Rashra's feet. "Dravla already has an equivalent anyway. You aren't even a spec in the air compared to Tellru,"

"Second Keith on that one," Dravla smirks proudly.

"I didn't come here to get your permission," Rashra yawns, examining his nail in a bored manner as if he expected this reaction but it would not falter from his goals.

"You-" Dravla's face contorts to utter disgust, "Have you no shame?" he whispers, his voice livid. "As a Coeihn, how could you not value and honor our most treasured bond? An equivalent is never something you force! It is something both agree to on equal terms! How- How could you?!" he roars, managing to stumble to his feet, leaning against the wall for support.

"Dravla, Dravla," Rashra tsks at him, "Of course I treasure it, but once the deed is done, it isn't exactly _forced_ anymore,"

"You shut your dirty mouth!" Dravla barks, "I would never do anything like that with you! I'd rather die!"

"Once we mate, you won't have such thoughts anymore, whether you like it or not. You are right, Dravla, the equivalent bond is the most sacred thing, and connects us all at a cellular level." he reaches forward, gripping Dravla's chin to look into his eyes, "When I'm done, your own body will force you to love me," he sneers. "You can't fight it. You can't fight equivalency."

Dravla slaps his hand away, leaning back against the wall in terror. "You sick scum…" he shakes his head in horror. Keith had never seen Dravla so revolting or shaken to something. In this moment, Rashra was terrifying to his Coeihn friend.

Of course, he would be. To Dravla's people, Equivalency was the most sacred thing. Love was cherished, never squandered or tossed around aimlessly. Rashra went against that very principle.

When Rashra reaches for Dravla again, Keith throws his shoe at him. "Don't you touch him!"

Rubbing the back of his head where Keith hit, completely shocked, Rashra moves towards him, almost in awe of him, "You were always so feisty," he tells Keith, licking his lips, "Perhaps, I should start with you instead~?" Before Keith can stop him, Rashra is reaching out, snagging his wrists. Keith tries to pull back, stumbling back at Rashra's unexpected muscle.

Pushed to the ground, Rashra's strength too great to fight off, Keith's arms were pinned at his side, his legs held down by Rashra's. The entire cell erupted into screams, calling for Rashra to stop. Dizzen even attempted to pull Rashra off, only to get backhanded by him so violently that he hit the ground with a sharp cry.

Dravla calls out for him, trying to crawl towards him, but only able to go so far with his ankle and wrists chained together.

It left Keith to fight Rashra alone, yelling at clawing at the Coeihns arms.

There was no way out of this… Rashra was just too strong. But if he could just reach the sword along his belt, then maybe he could fight his way out of this.

But once again, Rashra was just too powerful, pinning Keith's arms down to his side with a single hand, the other beginning to roam free over Keith's neck and shoulders, idolizing the skin.

He had to think fast or else…

A plan came to his mind.

It was risky.

It was dumb.

It made his skin crawl, but he had no other choice.

Keith glanced at Dravla, watching his friend struggling to get to his feet through his leg. "Keith…" he calls.

Keith decided that for the sake of Dravla, Dizzen, and for Lance, he was going to have to pull it off. He had never been that great of an actor in middle school when he was forced to participate in the school play, but he was going to put on one hell of a show today.

"Keith…!" Dravla was attempting to move and help him, his eyes catching with the Red Paladin.

Keith narrowed his eyes and Dravla froze in place.

There was something in those light purple irises that made Dravla feet go still. It was as if Keith was quietly trying to convey some message, ordering Dravla to stay where he was.

Confused, Dravla's attempts went still, forced to watch in quiet anticipation for the worse.

Keith stopped moving, his own arms falling limp, his expression relaxing. He even tried a smile up at the Coeihn above him.

"Not going to fight against this?" Rashra quirked an eyebrow.

Keith doesn't say anything for a long time, then, he chuckles, trying to sound carefree, "Do as you'd like,"

The entire cell was shocked.

Dravla was screaming, "Keith?! No-!"

"It's fine. Us humans switch from partner to partner so easily sometimes. What's the big deal?" Keith inquired, "It's in our nature to seek out a mate… one that is preferable strong, and daring... " He's lathering it on, hoping Rashra was easy to bolster.

"W-what's the big deal?!" Dravla sputtered, repeating what Keith had just said, "Are you serious-!?"

"Shut up, Dravla," Keith commands, "This doesn't concern you," with a hot glare, Dravla closed his mouth. It took everything Keith had to lay still, to relax his body and simply… take, what Rashra was doing.

It was sick.

His stomach was twisting, threatening to upchuck anything he held within. But his ploy seemed to work, and Rashra's shoulders were relaxing, looking very pleased. He gripped Keith's chin and brought their faces closer.

Keith closed his lips tightly when they kissed. It was repulsive, making every fiber in his body scream to rip away and sanitize his mouth. It was nothing like when he kissed Lance. Lance was... gentle. His lips were so soft, warm to the touch and moving against Keith's like he was cherishing his mouth with his own. Even just a peck from Lance had Keith's toes curling, his heart fluttering wildly in his chest.

This kiss was like eating spoiling fish.

Keith had to stay still. He had to accept this, even if just a little, to assure Rashra would be convinced.

It made him writhe under the feelings when he realized this might have been what Lance had felt like during his first time with that horrid guy from the Garrison. That thought was too horrible to bare.

After a few agonizing seconds of slithering touches and nauseous breaths, a limit was being reached. Keith wanted to tear off his own skin, which had surprisingly held well against his face, keeping the unwavering poker look.

Rashra was growing at ease, beginning to fully accept that Keith was willing with this.

He slowly released Keith's wrists, lifting the red paladin's shirt to look over his smooth chest, "Beautiful' he murmured, grazing his fingers along it. Keith's face remained unchanged, complacent almost.

Dravla couldn't watch. Where had that hot-headed young human gone a few moments ago?! How could he just agree to something so horrible?

Did he care about what Lance would think about this? Didn't he hold any self-preservation?

Emotionally torn with witnessing this, Dravla holds his breath when he see's Keith's hands moving. They grip Rashra's shoulders at first, sliding along them to entangle towards the back of his head. The more Rashra defiled his chest or moved one hand to Keith's pants, the closer Keith inches his own fingers downward, running them along Rashra's spine.

Then- he reaches towards his lower belt, sliding cautiously, patiently, to the hilt of his sword.

Dravla gasps when Keith grips it.

With a motion too swift for anyone to stop, Keith took the blade from the holster, lifted it, then brought it back down into the awaiting flesh of Rashra's back. The Coeihn made a choking sound, his body going stiff before becoming limp. Collapsing against Keith, the Red paladin squirmed out from below him. Using the blade, he cut himself free from his binds, quickly pulling his shirt back down and buttoning his pants back up.

He was shaking, breathing coming out in ragged gasps, "T-There," he says, reaching for Rashra's belt to pull out the device that deactivated the cell.

"Oh… oh, thank Parlog!" Dravla put a hand to his chest

Keith blinked at him "What?" He inquired, stepping over Rashra's unconscious form

"You scared me!" Dravla jabbed a finger towards him, "I thought you were serious for a second! Ughhhh," he groans in relief, "I about had a heart attack. But it's- what does Lance say? Cool? It's cool. It was a trick. You were tricking him."

"Yeah," Keith nods, "I was," he glances at Rashra in disgust, "You seriously think I would- with him?"

("He didn't mean it?") Dizzen asks Dravla.

("No. No, he was faking it,")

Dizzen threw his head back, making a panicked noise, ("I got so scared. I thought he was going with it. He is a very good actor,")

("Yeah he is! Scared the living daylights out of me,") he looks at Keith, shaking his head, "I almost barfed at least 4 times and actually barfed the 5th time at the thought," Dravla explains, motioning to the corner, "I wouldn't go over there if I were you,"

"Noted," Keith runs to them, "Now come on, we gotta get going."

As Keith knelt next to them, Dravla glanced over to the former head of the royal guard, "Did you kill him?"

"Don't know, don't care. But just in case I didn't, we should hurry,"

"Right."

Uncuffing Dizzen's and Dravla's restraints, they unlocked the cell doors. Helping Dravla support his injured leg, they crept out into the hall of the Galra ship.

"Okay," Keith says, "We gotta find the others."

"How do you plan to do that?"

Keith brushes off the sweat pooling at his brow, "I dunno- but we better figure it out soon, because it won't take long for a sentry to make its rounds. They usually keep prisoners around the 3rd floor, so for now, let's try to get our hands on some weapons and make our way down there."

'Right," the two Coeihns nod, following Keith's lead. Since he knew these types of structures it was best they relied on him to lead their way.

For now, Keith just had to focus on them not getting caught, but he was close. He just had to find Lance and hope he was okay.

* * *

 **0000-0000**

When left to his thoughts, Lance tended to think horrible things. He stressed over his own capabilities, questioned his choices, and overall just considered every mistake his own fault.

It was just how he was sometimes.

But the worse of it is when Lance would think about what happens next. He was always worrying about the future- stressed over the chance on them dying or otherwise. Rashra's words when he left didn't leave him much confidence.

He was going to Keith to do who knows what and Lance was left to wait- wait for some supposed Galran soldiers that would show up eventually and…

He didn't want to think about it.

It made his body shakes and his breathing ragged. He just needed to relax, and think this through. There had to be some way to get out of this mess.

His restraints weren't going to give anytime soon if the slight bleeding along his wrists were any indication. He was hanging too far in the air to even try to touch the ground, and there was nothing close enough in distance to grab.

Nothing on his person either.

He was doomed.

Lowering his head, Lance sighed. This was all his fault, wasn't it…? If he hadn't accepted that challenge, then none of this would have happened. But if he hadn't done that then Keith would have- no, as much regret as he feels right now, he couldn't ever allow Keith to go to someone like Rashra.

Though considering everything going on, that might just happen anyway. It sucked.

Why wasn't he stronger? Rashra was right, all he's done since he arrived is get protected by others. He had to have Tellru and Dravla help him to save Keith, had to have Ruru save him from those Coeihns, and to rely upon and get protected by Keith all throughout when he was blind...

Perhaps trying to protect Keith wasn't the only reason he had accepted Rashra's challenge. Maybe he also wanted to prove to himself that he could do things on his own.

With tears burning his eyes, Lance turned his head into his arm, rubbing them away. He had to stay strong right now. No breaking down. Come on Lance, you can do this.

This courage he built only lasted so long before he could hear the cell door sliding open. A few Galra soldiers entered the room, taking in Lance's body. He tensed, swallowing thickly.

"What do you want?" he says, hoping to sound intimidating.

When the three Galra approached him, Lance's body went rigged, "S-Stay away from me," he says, his voice cracking without meaning to.

They ignored him, moving closer with small smirks. Two of the three had no problem coming closer to him, but the third seemed to stay back, scanning the room thoughtfully.

"That guy was right- I never really got to notice before, but he is quite the catch," One says.

"Bright blue eyes," the second one agrees. "Nice lips, very skinny- look at these curves," their hands graze his hip and Lance bucked away.

"Don't touch me!" he barked, fearfully.

"Awe, he's shy,"

"Wouldn't mind having a shot at this before we hand him over to Lord Zarkon," they two in front of him sneer. Their looks petrified him, sending him into a cold sweat.

"D-Don't…"

They loomed around him, reaching to touch him. Their fingers trailed his chin, down his neck to his chest- Lance wanted to scream, and maybe he did, but it was drowned out, cut off by a fist connecting with bone. The Galra that had stood towards the back of the first two had lunged forward.

Startled, Lance held his breath as the Galra attacked the other two. He punched one, flipped the other, and then pulled forth a dagger that changed to a blade.

Lance recognized it without needing an explanation.

The Blade of Marmora.

He knew they had spies within many different areas of Zarkon's empire, but to think there would be one here of all places…

Taking out the other two Galra with ease, knocking them unconscious, he turned to Lance and slashed at the chains above him. Falling to his knees, Lance scrambled to find his baring's.

"Lance of Voltron?" the Galra inquired, kneeling next to him to offer a hand.

"Y-yeah?" Lance took it, heaved to his feet. "Thank you. Who are you?"

"I am Vel. I am here to help you. Your team has been looking for you,"

Lance was thrilled to hear the news of his friends. So they were still okay? Of course, even with his and Keith's absence, the Blade of Marmora would be there to help give support. "Can you contact them?" he asks, "Tell them where we are?"

"Outer communication has been cut off. A new device Zarkon's druids have devised," Vel explains, motioning for them to follow, "We have to keep moving. It won't take long for the patrols to realize your escape. This is as far as I can help you without blowing my cover,"

"Right." Lance nods, understanding.

"The other paladin, as well as many other Coeihn hostages, are held within this ship. Down that hall you should be able to locate the King of this world."

"Manson?" Lance gasps.

"Yes. Find him and the other Coeihns. If you can get to the lower deck, you should be able to find the device controlling the communications and destroy it. That should allow you to get into contact with your team. There are many escape pods within this ship." he hands Lance something along the lines of a timer, "You have one hour,"

"Till what?" he pales.

"I've set explosives set to blow in this time. It will not destroy this ship but will give you plenty of cover to get out and force the Galra to flee. By then you should be able to contact your team before they return and seek aid."

Lance nods, "T-Thank you, Vel. Thank you so much."

The Galra's ear flicked and he bows his head, "It was an honor to meet you, Blue Paladin. Perhaps we'll meet again. I shall try my best to buy you time to collect some weapons for the Coeihns, but be quick about it." he hands Lance his spare blaster

"Okay," giving the timer a second glance, he gives Vel a similar bow and runs off, scurrying down the hall as fast as he could. Arming himself with the blaster, having never fired one before, he was grateful to see it wasn't too different from his Bayard. Speaking of, he needed to find that, as well as Keith.

Sneaking along the wall, used to having to infiltrate Galran ships but never on his own, Lance moved cautiously. He had a chance right now, so he couldn't scaunder it. Everyone was counting on him.

Peeking into all the rooms he passed by, finding most of them empty, he came to a heavily guarded one. Realizing this was probably the room Vel mentioned, he took aim for the guarding sentinel's heads. He inhaled, then fired as he exhaled.

With two headshots and one to the third sentinel's chest, the robots collapsed to the floor.

Always feeling like he had been thrown into a video game in these situations, Lance steps over them and slipped into the room.

The Coeihn King was within, tied by his arms and hanging in the air in a similar fashion to how he was a few minutes ago. "King Manson?"

Manson lifted his head, eyes wide as Lance approached, "B...Blue champion?" he asks wearily.

"Hey, your highness," Lance grins, rushing over to help uncuff his wrists and help him down, "Are you alright?"

'I- Yes," he shakes his head, looking like he was unsure if this was real, "What are you doing here? How did you escape?"

"I had a little help," Lance offers, "Listen, we don't have much time. We have to find the others and get out of here within the next-" he glances at the timer, "The next 53 minutes,"

"Or else?"

"This place is gonna blow," Lance tells him, "So we gotta find the others, take out the communication blocker, then get out of here."

"That device is on this ship?" Manson frowns, "Well, that would explain why we have been unable to discover its location till now," he nods to Lance and gets to his feet, "I have to find Harri first- they took him," Manson lifts up one of the fallen sentinel's guns.

"Do you know how to work those?" Lance asks.

"...Nope. But what better way to learn, yes?" he offers. Allowing Lance to show him where the trigger was Manson nods, "Let's go,"

"Manson, wait!" Lance grabs his arm. The King pauses, raising his eyebrow curiously to Lance.

"What is it?"

"I…" Lance cuts off, rethinking his choice of telling the King exactly everything he had learned these last few hours. He had no idea what sort of state Manson felt with the death of his equivalent. Perhaps he had finally come to peace with it and was able to keep living...? Perhaps it still haunted him that he could never find the murderer of his beloved…

If Lance told him this, would it truly end in a good way?

But he deserved to know, didn't he?

"Your equivalent… their name was Kac'ela, right?" he asks cautiously. Manny's body goes still, his eyes glazing over to mask any emotion he might feel with this conversation.

"Yes," he nods solemnly. "Why do you ask?"

"I just… I don't-" Lance sighs and lowers his gaze, "I'm so sorry, Manson."

"Lance?"

"Rashra he- he came into my cell and was talking to me. He was completely nuts, Manson,"

The King nods, "I could never understand what was going on in his head, but it was my fault for not seeing him as the traitor he was. This is not your fault, Blue Champion," he assures.

"I know that. It is Rashra and the Galra's fault. But Manson, when he was talking to me- Rashra told me that- he…" Lance's voice wavered

"I'll stop you right there," Manson put a hand on Lance's shoulder, cutting him off. "Whatever you are about to tell me… don't do it."

"Huh?"

Manson gives a wryly smile, "We need to focus on finding our comrades and getting out of this place. Any other task could just lead to us being recaptured. I have to focus on my people and my son…" he turns, "I have to protect what I still have,"

"Oh…" Lance watches in awe as the King moves across the room, his gaze set. Admiring him, feeling like was looking at Shiro for a moment, Lance shuffled after him. When they stepped out of the room, they quickly put their backs to the wall and slithering through the halls carefully.

"You know these kinds of halls better than I," Manson tells him, "Perhaps you should lead?"

"I don't know them that well," Lance warns him, "But I do know they have sentinels on constant patrol so we'll have to move fast and quiet," motioning for him to follow the two begin their quest down the hall. "Prisoners are held on the third floor so- I think that is where we are. Did any Galra come and talk to you while you were held captive?"

"Some strange looking ones in cloaks. They were talking gibberish, honestly. Something about Coeihns and our strength. A mention of our high quintessence too,"

"Huh?" Lance was confused. "Those must have been druids. They are like- magicians or whatever for the Galra. They do some messed up stuff. They experiment on people… they took the arm of one of my friends," Were they perhaps considering using the Coeihns for their experiments? They were stronger than Humans and most species Lance had seen so far, so maybe the druids thought they could be better test subjects.

"That must be why they are gathering so many Coeihns hostages instead of killing us." Manson concludes, "We must hold some value to them,"

"That's gotta be it," Lance agrees.

Ducking through a few halls and squeezing through rooms, Lance found themselves in a large control room of sorts.

"This room sure looks important," Manson notes.

"Sure does," Lance moved around one of the consoles, looking over it curiously. Still not able to understand Galran tongue, he did his best to figure out what this room was for. Something about a signal, he assumed.

"I think I found the source of our signal block," He tells the King, "It's gotta be somewhere in this room. We just gotta destroy it, then we can get communications up and running again."

"How do we know which device is which?" Manson eyed the multiple floating or spinning contraptions wearily. Lance shrugs.

"I'm not Pidge- she's the techno junkie of Voltron." He tells Manson.

"I see. Well, I suppose we'll just have to take them all out,"

Pressing a few random buttons on the console to see what they did, Lance seemed to lower a few of the devices. "I guess we just shoot them and see what happens?

"Not much of a plan," the King informs him.

"If you have a better option," Lance mumbles, "I would love to hear it."

"Well, we could-" When Manson turned to him, he gasps, "Lance! Watch out!"

Turning at the sound of his warning, Lance managed to duck just in time before something slashed at his neck. Stumbling back, Lance came into contact with a Druid. His mind flashed back to months before, when he lost his sight.

Caught in the memory, he ran into Manson, who tackled both of them out of the way from the Druid's next attack. "Lance! Snap out of it!" Manson shook him.

Lance jumped, "I- s-sorry, yeah. I'm fine. I'm fine," he lifts his pistol. Shooting out from their hiding spot that attempted to attack the druid, "That's a druid!" Lance warns, "Be careful- it can do crazy stuff!"

"Crazy stuff-?" Manson understands a second later when the Druid disappears just to reappear right behind him and tried to slash at his side. Catching the sword with the pistol, he ducked to the side just as it was cut in half. Lance lifted his own to fire at the Druid but missed when it flew back.

He had never really had to fight one before no but knew from conversations with Allura and Keith that these guys didn't go down easily.

Not to mention one had already got the drop on him before...

He wasn't going to let that happen again. He was ready now. He could do this.

The Druid turned to him, lifting his hands. They sparked with electricity and Lance ducked to avoid a lightning bolt to the face. His gaze caught with Manson, who had lifted a small chunk of glass that had shattered from the Druid's attack. Meeting Lance's eyes, the two nod in quiet agreement to a plan.

Running in aimless circles, Lance drew the Druid's attention to himself, making taunting noises. Ducking and weaving through machines that erupted over his head, Lance screamed as he tripped and slide against the floor.

Rolling onto his stomach, he looked up to find the Druid looming over him. It lifted its hand to kill him them-

Glass Manson had taken off the ground pierced the Druid's chest, and the Galra let out a choked gasp. Staggering, it clawed at its chest before falling in a heavy heap before Manson's feet.

Huffing, he stepped over it to help Lance to his feet, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," he nods. "Thanks for the save,"

"I guess we're even now," Manson chuckles.

Lance chuckles over a whirling sound. Puzzled to what it was, he lifted his head to their right, surprised to find a strange looking satellite device in front of them. It spun in fast circles, making a horrible scratching noise that made goosebumps appear on his arms.

"I think that's our mark," Lance pointed to the spinning device, knowing they had to act quickly before any other patrols or druids appeared.

Manson lifted his pistol, "Well, then I guess I know where to aim."

Lance grins and copies his movements, firing with Manson. He doesn't consider the idea that firing at a dangerous looking machine might be a bad thing till a few shots later when the device seems to short circuit. The spinning device in the middle falls to the floor before the rest of the device began on catch fire.

The two pale at the sight, wondering if they had gone overboard, "Whoops-" it exploded slightly, making them stumble back, "And… that is our cue to leave,"

"Right behind you," Manson nods.

Shrieking like a bunch of 5-year-olds they ducked out the room when the rest began to explode and dashed down the hall. "That was a mistake!" Manson announces.

"At least it's gone now!" Lance says back, turning and tripping right into the Sentinel. Manson freaks out and trips over them too, slamming right into the sentinel's head and crushing it with his weight.

"..." The two sat up and awkwardly moved away from the robot.

"My bad,' Manson mumbled.

"That's one way to take 'em out," Lance shrugs. Looking up to see where they are, he looks at the panel to the right. "I think we are close to the other cells."

"One of three steps done at least," Manson dusts off his hands, "We just have to find everyone and get to the runaway pods, right?"

"Escape pods," Lance corrects him, chuckling.

"That's what I meant,"

"Sure," Lance nudges him and the two move down the hall.

Cells, all empty, were appearing on their sides. Knowing they were getting close, they picked up the pace. Looking into one room, Lance gasps when he spots a something that belongs to him.

"There it is!" he slides open the door and runs in. Several Coeihns weapons and other things were within, including a very familiar look blue and red Bayard. "Our weapons!" Lance plucks them both up, attaching them to his belt where they belonged.

"My sword," Manny grins, taking it. "I would have been sad to lose you," attaching it to his hip, he grins. "I think I know how to arm the hostages we save,"

"I like your thinking,"

* * *

 **0000- Keith-000**

"These things sure do come in handy when you can't move your feet too well," Dravla beams, lifting the stolen pistol he had taken from a sentinel.

"They are meant for far distance combat," Keith confirms, despite having grabbed himself a blade from one of the Galra. His aimed sucked anyway, so what was the point of taking a gun?

"You doing okay, Dravla?" he calls over his shoulder, making sure to stick ahead in case they ran into trouble. With Dravla's leg, they were at a disadvantage.

"Fine," Dravla says, leaning against Dizzen for support. "Sorry to slow us down,"

"It's fine," Keith assures him, "We're making good progress," he would feel better though if they could find Lance. "Let's just try to hurry up a bit-"

"Oop! Wait wait!" Dravla forces Dizzen and him to stop. He was looking down a hall they were just about to pass. As if seeing something important, he grins, "Well hello there,"

Keith trails off to look over his shoulder, watching Dizzen and Dravla limp wildly down the second hall. "Hey," he calls them, "We have to move-" when he comes around the corner, he is surprised to finds cells of Coeihns. The other hostages!

Dravla is grinning at them, asking the Coeihns questions and giving small talk. "Keith, we found us some Equivalents~"

Dizzen was reaching through the bars, tears in his eyes as he grips a girl's hand. Watching his sobbing face, the girl chuckles, reaching out to brush them aside.

("I was so worried about you, sister,") Dizzen sniffles like an infant

"(You were worried about me?" she gawks, "You were taken away with no distinct reason and away from everyone else! I was worried about you! You're a fragile little angel who can hardly lift a fork,)"

Dizzen pouts, no longer sure if he was that happy to find his sister, "(You're ruining the moment, Bexley,")

"(Sorry)"

"Aww," Dravla says, "Dizzen found his sister,"

"I'm glad to hear that," Keith approaches the cells curiously, "Are they all Equivalents?"

Dravla nods, "Yeah, strange right? Did they take just Equivalents when they were capturing Coeihns?"

"Is Dizzen an Equivalent?"

Poor Dizzen blushes when Dravla leans over to sniff him, "Pure as pure can be… which is surprising given that he is a teacher and has black hair." he nudges Dizzen, "(You shy or something?")

("N-No! I just haven't found the right person,") he mutters, flustered.

("He's awkward,") his sister says to Dravla, who nods in understatement.

"(I am not!") Dizzen whines.

Keith isn't sure he cares about this topic anymore and tries to find a way to open the cells. "Ask them if any of them have seen Lance," he tells Dravla.

("Hey!") Dravla calls into the cells, ("Is Tellru, Lance or Ruru in there?") Many explain to Dravla that Tellru didn't get captured with them, and if she had, she wasn't with them.

"If you are all Equivalents, and she isn't here, I doubt she was," he concludes, ("My girls are too strong to let some Galra get the upper hand on them,") he boasters proudly. The Coeihns blink at him, clearly not amused. "But Lance doesn't seem to be in here either, Keith."

Keith nods numbly at that information. Since they were paladins the Galra probably took Lance somewhere else.

("But in all seriousness, were any pure's captured?") Dravla asks.

("They were,") Dizzen's sister tells him, ("But they were all taken somewhere else,")

"They were?" Dravla frowns at Keith, telling him what he had just learned.

When Keith was finally able to open the door, the Coeihns stepped out to join them, thanking Keith by bowing their head to him. If this didn't prove to them that Keith wasn't some spy, he didn't know what would.

"Well, let's go find the others. The more numbers we have the harder it will be to stay hidden, so let's try to cover as much ground as we can before we are discovered. Can you all fight?" Keith asks them

Dravla translates, repeating the question. All the Coeihns nod and Keith smirks.

"Let's get going then,"

* * *

 **-Lance-**

Lance was thrilled when they found the Coeihns.

Rounding the corner, Manson slides to a stop when he hears a few gasps. Turning to the cells, he smiles at his people. They perk up at the sight of him, erupting into cheers. Lance slams his Bayard into the panel controlling the cells and deactivates the bars, lifting them for the Coeihns to swarm into the halls.

They are praising him and the King, but Lance can hardly appreciate it, trying his best to peek over them in search of Keith. He couldn't find him- or he wasn't here.

"Papa!" he recognizes someone yelling towards them. Manson's whole body goes still, and he turns with wide eyes. Prince Harri is pushing through the legs of the Coeihns, most stepping to the side to let him through.

Manson rushed forward to lift his boy into his arms. The Coeihns stepped back to smile at the sight, touched at the happy reunion.

"Papa," Harri sniffled, burying his face into his Father's shoulder. "I-I was brave," Harri is telling him. "I didn't cry o-or anything in front of them,"

"I know," Manson sighs in relief, running a hand through his son's hair, "You did so well, Harri. I'm so proud of you. Daddy would have been proud of you too,"  
Lance swallows when he realizes Manson meant Kac'ela. He can't help but look away, swallowing down some bile when he thinks to Rashra and what that murderer had done.

Pulling away enough to look his Father in the face, Harri gives him a small smile, "Daddy would be proud of you too, Papa."

Manson blinked once, then twice, and then laughs brokenly, "You think?" he tilts his head to the side. Harri nods, and leaned forward, pressing his forehead to his Father's. They share a small moment like that before Manson turns to his people.

("We must escape from this place,)" he tells them. "(There is a storage room down the hall room here where we shall arm ourselves. We must free everyone other Coeihn we can find and make our way to the escape pods!)"

The Coeihns do a cheer to pump themselves up, then rush down to get the weapons they sought. Manson stopped one Coeihn to ask them a question. When they answered, Manson nodded to them and sent them off.

"Lance," he turns to him, "It seems that they separated the Coeihns into three groups upon capturing. A group of pure's, a group of equivalents, and then a third group consisting of three individuals. They informed me that Keith and Dravla was part of that group,"

Lance's mind flashed to what Rashra said before- how he had requested three people for his… _enjoyment._

Lance looked physically ill at the news, gritting his teeth and inhaling sharply, "W-We have to find them," he says.

"Indeed. We just located the group of pure's, so the Equivalents must have been kept elsewhere. Including Keith, Dravla, and whoever else was taken with them."

"Right," Lance nods stiffly, "Let's hurry," he glances at the timer, "30 minutes to go,"

Arming the Coeihns was simple, but leading them through the halls not so much. It was impossible to use stealth at this point, so they ended up just barreling through whatever Sentinels and Galra they stumbled upon. The Galra were able to track them through this, sending waves of robots in an attempt to stop them.

Of course, being a race that had been in war for centuries, even the citizens knew they fair share in a fight and were able to make it through the robots with ease. To Lance, it was very impressive, and he was very glad to have these people on his side.

The problem was, they were running out of time.

"Still no sign of Keith, Dravla, Tellru or Ruru," Lance mumbles to himself trying not to look down at his timer constantly.

"Perhaps Tellru and Ruru have not been captured…?" Manson suggests as the run down the hall

"Did you see them get away?" he raises his eyebrow

Manson shakes his head, "No, but there are still plenty of cells left to check. We've confirmed Keith and Dravla are here, but perhaps Tellru and Ruru weren't?"

"Maybe," Lance agrees, "Ruru probably would have been with Harri and the other pure's, but she wasn't…. But we still haven't found Keith." he frowns, worried.

"We'll find them," Harri pipes in, looking confident in this fact, "They are strong!"

"Y...Yeah," Lance agrees, smiling at the young Prince. Looking down at his timer, he frowns to find the time ticking down quickly. "23 minutes left," he says, "We gotta get everyone else and get to the escape pods, fast!" he informs the King

They turn to make their way down the next hall, finding themselves stumbling into a large open area. Railings cover the sides of the walkways, plummeting downward to reveal several other floors of the Galra ship.

This place was huge. How were they possibly going to find Keith in this mess?

"Do you hear that?" Manson inquires. Lance doesn't understand what he means and strains his ears to listen.

Gunshots?

He turns and looks across the skywalk platform that connected the two sides of the ship. Galra were shuffling across the other side. For a moment, Lance was positive they were headed for them, but their aim was somewhere else.

A small group, the second batch of prisoners they had been looking for, had already managed to escape from their cells and were tempting a breakout.

They were Coeihns, obviously, but one small figure in particular caught Lance's eye. Gripping the railing bars, Lance leaned over as far as he could to peer at the group, his mouth falling open.

Recognizing that crazy mullet anywhere, Lance screamed the other's name across the vast distance,

" _Keith!"_ his name echoed, bouncing off the walls like a symphony.

The Paladin in question turns so fast that he almost falls over, his eyes desperate in his search. Scanning the perimeter like a beast on the hunt, it didn't take long for him to spot Lance, who was waving frantically on his end.

"Keith!" Lance was so happy he wondered if maybe he was crying? Considering that his yell sounded more like a sob, he probably was.

Keith was alive.

And look, Dravla was even with him!

Keith almost drops his stolen sword, mouthing Lance's name in utter shock. With a sudden dash to his right, he is pushing through the Galran soldier, cutting down each one that got in his way from making it to the skywalk and over to Lance.

Lance follows after him, hoping to meet Keith half way.

Manson was barking orders behind him, moving to follow in Lance's lead, the Coeihns follow after him.

It wasn't easy getting across since most Galran took up the bridge and cut them off, but he was close. It was an all out war. Lance had never fought with so many allies before, and it really helped measure the scope of how intense this battle against Zarkon could be at times.

With each sentinel, he shot down the closer he could see Keith. Dark hair, red shirt, angry scowl, but bright eyes- they were almost in reach.

When he got to hearing distance, Lance called to him.

Lifting his sword to catch the blade of a Galran soldier, Keith calls to him, "Lance! Are you alright?!" Lance is a little bit of a distance away but manages to hear him through this chaos.

"Yeah. A little light headed, but otherwise good," he lifts his own Bayard to take fire at the Sentinels taking the positions above, knowing they were trying to get an advantage by gaining the higher ground.

With each swing of his sword, which was odd to Lance since he had never seen Keith fight with anything other than his own Bayard, Keith managed to gasp something else out, "You're nuts! I can't believe you accepted the challenge!"

Was he seriously talking about that Rashra challenge?! "Are you still on that?!" Lance could hardly believe his ears, "That is old news, Keith!"

"I am so gonna kill you when this is done with! Did that creep do anything else? How many fingers am I holding up?"

To Lance's amusement, a faint glimpse of fingers peeked out over the Galran and Coeihn heads.

"3," he calls back, "And it isn't like they were giving me much of a choice!"

"Hell, they were," Keith barked.

Lance grins into his sleeve. The normal response to being scolded should be to feel regret, frustration, or defiance of what they were scolding you of- you definitely weren't supposed to feel giddy and bounce on your heels as much as Lance was.

It was just so… Keith!

Yelling at him, trying to pick a fight in the middle of a war zone. Lance couldn't even see his face, just managed to make out the call of his voice within the sea of warriors, or his sword swinging upward from time to time- or a flash of raven hair.

It was the greatest thing ever, in Lance's opinion.

"Hey, you know me." Lance cackles.

"Annoying and difficult!" Keith summarizes

"That is so rude! You know you adore me!" Lance gasps dramatically.

"Shut up, of course, I do!"

Lance falters, turning to find Keith but a short distance away. Caught by surprise, Lance can only stare at Keith's back as he lifts his sword cutting deep into a sentinel. He turned, jabbing a finger towards the blue paladin.

"When we get back, I'm making you my Equivalent, you ass! So you better be prepared!"

Lance inhales sharply. Caught off guard, his arm was tugged back by Manson to avoid getting his head chopped out. With reeling thoughts, Lance stumbles around him, mumbling his thanks before demanding, "W-What?" Had Keith just said what he thought he said? He wasn't sure! His heart is going too crazy to think straight. If everyone could just shut up for a moment and give him a second to breath, he would really appreciate that!

There is no response, like Keith hadn't heard him- or had, but was just ignoring him. "Keith? Did you just ask me to be your equivalent?'

He locates Keith bashing in the head of a Sentinel, taking out his embarrassment on the poor thing since he hadn't thought through his words when he had openly declared them.

His face is a burning red, his eyes narrowed in a panic, each punch seeming to give no help in decreasing his growing shyness when Keith realizes Lance can see him.

"Keith~!" Lance is stopped from a small fence kind of structure that was cutting off that area. As he was about to lift his leg to go over it, Keith is shoved back into him.

Keith glances over his shoulder, blushing. It was almost insane considering they were in war right now but-

"Did you just-"

"Yes," Keith nods, "I-I meant what I just said. I want you to be my equivalent,"

Lance is gasping, "I... I can't-" he lifts his hand to cover his mouth, smiling into his palm. He was happy. He was so incredibly happy. "L-Let me catch my breath," he pleads

Keith reaches over the bars, yet another thing to keep the two apart, to graze his index finger to Lance cheek, savoring the small touch. He is staring at Lance with an unspoken anxiety, his other hand tapping nervously against the bars as he works up the courage to say these things. "Would you be mine, Lance?"

( _Yes)_ , his thoughts screamed at him.

He opens his mouth to answer….

The ceiling erupts above them from an explosion. Realizing another freedom battle was going on up above, Lance didn't have time to react to the falling debris.

In that moment, Lance hated Keith's natural flow to follow his instincts. It usually tended to work out well for them- but not when it involved showing Lance out of the way instead of leaping to the side himself.

Time went slow motion. He could see Keith as he was tossed back. Could see the panic in his eyes, then a contentment when he realized Lance would be safe. Then he was gone.

Hitting the ground hard, Lance slides a decent couple inches before coming to a painful halt. He lifted his head, but he couldn't see Keith. He was covered, buried deep within the fallen chunks of ceiling.

" _No!"_ he leaped to his feet and charged for the pile of debris.

"Oh no…" Dravla whispered from where he stood, lowering his weapon in shock.

"Keith! KEITH!" Lance hurriedly scrambled to move the rubble, digging as desperately as he could. His fingers bleed, but he didn't care. He didn't stop till he found him.

When he finally did, Keith's body was unmoving.

 _(Yes, is what he had wanted to tell Keith.)_

"Keith? Keith?!" he pleaded, lifting him into his arms. When he fell limp, Lance forgot what it felt like to breath.

 _(Yes, Keith.)_

"Is he…?" Dravla trailed off, his face pale.

"No…" he laid Keith flat on the ground a short distance away from the rubble, and then placed his finger below his ear, searching for his pulse. It wasn't there. Or he couldn't find it through trembling hands. Blood was rushing to his ears, making them ring. He couldn't hear anything.

 _(Yes, Keith. Lance couldn't tell him this if Keith... if he...)_

Was Keith even breathing? Lance didn't think so.

 _(Quiznack, yes, dammit! Yes he would be his! He had been his for months now!)_

Knowing he couldn't properly listen for the heartbeat like this, Lance put his head to Keith's chest and listened for the sound, for any sign, that Keith was alive.

 _(He never got to give him an answer…)_

One second, two seconds- ten seconds... Nothing.

Nothing.

 _Nothing._

 _There was nothing._

Lance's wails could be heard for miles.

* * *

 ** _My internet, like other things, is dead, so this chapter ended up being late. It came back to life though, like other things eventually, so don't worry :D_**

 ** _... *awkward laughter*_**

* * *

 **Reviews:**

 **:** Oh my gosh hey! Thank you so much for the review too! That means so much to me, and I'm so glad you were able to make an account! :D I didn't notice any errors, so don't you worry about a thing! I hope you enjoyed this chapter too despite how things turned out... 0.0

 **Oh dear lord:** I'm sorry, but oh my gosh you are so sweet! I hope you enjoyed this chapter too! The next chapter has some moments so don't worry. People will be becoming equivalents very soon!

 **Guest:** You weren't! Your theory was almost proven correction, but he was saved, so don't worry! :D

 **Guest:** There are a lot of guests so I hope you all know who I am talking about in certain moments 0.0 I think you are the same person though XD

 **Guest"** Twas a stupid idea, yes XD

 **Guest:** Uh, I think you mean "Boat" XD

 **Guest:** I suck at fake sleeping too. my nose twitches and gives me away

 **Guest:** I shall both please and piss people off! Bwahahah!

 **Guest:** hahahaha XD It's hard to act like you aren't gossiping when you legitly are!

 **The colorfulmonster:** Oh my gosh, thank you! I hope you enjoyed every chapter you read! I'm so happy you took the time to read this!

 **Guest:** Can't have a good story if there isn't some sort of betrayal... or something like that XD

 **Guest:** Yes, everything is fine... be like the Tin man. he doesn't have a heart. and he's fine :D

 **Guest:** Lance didn't die... unlike a certain other person...

 **Guest:** BEAHAHHERL:KH SF BWAHAHAHAHAHAHa

 **Seamor:** Seamor! my friend! My pal! Welcome to hell on earth! :D But yes, Rashra is totally hateable. And something really really bad did happy... yeah...

 **Zaffrebat17:** That is definitely one way to kill someone XD Don't worry! Rashra will recieve his painful demise! ...Cause things aren't over with him yet :3 tehe

 **Ewink18:** Thank you so much! Who wouldn't try to save Lance? ;-; Thank you so much

 **KnightOwl247:** *slowly approaches the ball* ... There there *hands you a blanket and some cookies* They say everything has to get worse before it can get better so... XD I dunno where I'm going with this. I always just make everything ten times worse

 **Dick-Grayson-Trash:** Hahaha XD Oh my gosh, really? I'm so sorry- I think? Thank you for reviewing!

 **AngiMK:** When red learns what's happened, the whole universe is going to Feel. Her. Warth

 **Devil Wolf girl:** Yay! I'm so glad to hear that! I doooooo. yes, I really do enjoy making everyone stress over these boys

 **Pink doughtnuts:** BOOM BAAM! PLOT TWIST! XD hahah


	27. Equivalents

"Keith… Keith!' Lance shook him, hoping to stir him. When he didn't, his face pale and peaceful, the very appearance of death itself, Lance thought he might start hyperventilating.

Years of taking CPR and first aid classes for his job back on Earth- his lifeguard position- came back to him. Not even sure himself how he managed to think straight, he moved as quickly as his trembling fingers allowed.

Tilting Keith's chin slightly, he put his palms together and placed them to his chest.

His mind acted on his own, almost tunnel visioned with the task.

Before he knew what he was doing he began compressions. He was pleading with Keith, begging him to return. "Come back to me. Please. Please Keith please. Come back." he croaks.

By the 15th compression, Lance was crying.

By the 20th compression, Dravla was slowly inching closer, knowing they had to get moving but- he couldn't' bare to tear him from Keith now.

"Lance-"

"No!" he sobbed smacking the Coeihns hand away before continuing with the compressions, "No… no no…" this couldn't be happening. Please, someone please, tell him this was a sick joke. A horrible nightmare.

Even with compressions, that didn't insure his heart would restart, would it? No it-

Tears blurred his vision. The world fell quiet around him, the battle of Coeihns and Galra nothing but white noise.

He couldn't lose him.

Not when he had just started to- they hadn't even-

"Please don't do this me," Lance sobbed. "Keith, please. P-Please…" he bit back a sob, trying to keep his focus on his tasks, pausing every so often to tilt Keith's chin back, plug his nose, and breath into his mouth, waiting till his chest lifted enough.

Dravla's hand was slowly moving to his shoulders, holding him. "Lance," he whispers softly, "He's gone."

Lance shook his head, a distressed cry breaking his voice. He couldn't just accept that Keith was gone. He couldn't!

Dravla's hand trembled, gripping Lance's shirt, "Lance," he turns his head away, unable to bare the sight. "I'm sorry,"

Lance shoved him away, delirious in his despair. Nothing had ever hurt so much. How was he supposed to keep on going after this? He had been fine before he met Keith! He was happy and things were great. He could keep going then with no problems at all, even if things got a little grim.

He had lost people, sure, and things were sad for a while but nothing- nothing like this. He couldn't even will his feet to move. That timer for when half of the Galra ship would explode was ticking down and he didn't care.

He wanted to go down with it.

He couldn't breath. He could think. He couldn't- not without Keith. Lance didn't even realize how lonely he had been until he met him and now he was gone.

Lance screamed, lifted his fits, and brought them down hard against the red paladin's chest.

It was Keith's fault!

He took his heart the moment his stopped beating and it wasn't fair.

Who was going to smile at him in the mornings? Who was going to piss him off and make him smile? Who was he going to love more than this stupid mullet-wearing jerk?

One hit. Two. He was dead, and Lance could punch him all he wanted, but he still wasn't coming back, was he?

"You asshole!" Lance screeched, placing his hands together and slamming them down ruthlessly to Keith's heart, "You can't-!" Keith couldn't just leave him alone. He hated him. He loved him. He needed him to be okay or else Lance would never be.

"Please!" he begged. Another hit, and Keith shifted under his fingertips.

His body suddenly jolted alive. Lance jumped so far that he fell back against Dravla, who was screaming in shock.

Keith was gasping, air returning to his till lungs too fast for him to comprehend it. He sat up, his wild and feral, scanning the area, looking ready to kill whatever unlucky soul came into his vision first.

The Galra was lucky that Lance was the first thing he saw

He was sobbing, he face ugly with heavy tears and red cheeks, "Keith! God Keith- oh my god," he gathered the panting red paladin into his arms, tears streaming from his face. Keith limply allowed this, blinking in confusion.

"Lan-?" his voice was too hoarse to talk.

"I love you, Keith."

Keith inhaled, opened his mouth to question Lance, but was cut off but a kiss. Then another.

Lance was mumbling deliriously between them, "I love you. I love you. _I love you_ ," he kissed him and kissed him and cried and just broke down- too happy to care about the fighting and bloodshed around them.

"I can't… breath…" Keith gasps. Lance was smothering him.

"OH! Sorry! Sorry sorry-" he pulled away, brushing dust and dirt out of Keith's face, "I'm freaking out- sorry! You were just- you're alive and Ijustcan't-"

Keith kissed him, "Stop talking,"

Lance chokes, which is something Keith can't bare to see. Was he crying because of him?

Pressing his forehead to Lance's, he does his best to sooth his trembling form.

Behind them, Dravla leaned back against the box he was placed at and sighs in relief, smiling at the two.

"These two are gonna give me a heart attack," he concludes

Manson chuckles, patting his friend's shoulder, happy to see things had turned out well.

"I'm gonna- I swear, I lose 5 years of my life every day with you," Lance tells Keith

"...," Keith blinks at him, "W...What did you just say?" Lance repeats himself, but Keith shakes his head, "N-No, before. You said that you- right after I came back alive- You said you lov-"

At just the mention of Keith's heart-stopping, Lance leaned forward, cutting off any more conversation.

When they kiss, it is this mix of saliva, sweat, and blood- probably one of the best kisses of Lance's life.

With one last peck, one that was very wet and tender, Lance pulls away at the sound of an explosion a few floors down.

"W-We have to go," Keith was alive. The timer was still ticking. Sweet parlog, they had to get out of here. "We got 8 minutes!" he calls to Manson, officially panicking. He just got Keith back, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let him die here! "We-" he cuts off when he tries to pull Keith to his feet and the Red paladin screamed in pain. "Y-Your legs," Lance stammers, realizing what the problem was. His ankle was turned in the opposite direction, completely broken in half. Wanting to reach out and touch them but stopping at the last moment, Lance looks up to meet Keith's eyes.

"I can't walk." Keith grunts, eyes stuck on Lance, mesmerized. He didn't seem to even be thinking about his broken ankle in that moment. He was reaching up, cupping Lance's face, who was looking around wildly for a way out. Lance didn't seem to notice this.

If he had, he would have realized how much adoration Keith held in his eyes. How he brushed his thumbs to the soft skin of Lance's face, touched at his lips gingerly, fawned over his cute ears-

"Guys, we gotta get going," Lance looked down at the timer in his hands, "This place is about to get some serious redecorating."

"Here," Manson helps Keith, lifting his form carefully. "Let's go." With a call, he commanded his people to start heading down the steps, towards the escape pods.

"Right." Lance and the rest of the Coeihns start running, glad to get out of this hellhole. The entire run back to the escape pods below, Keith is staring at Lance.

He doesn't care about his broken ankle.

He doesn't care about the Traveks. Or the Galra. Or how this place was about to be set ablaze.

All he can think about is what Lance said.

Lance said he loved him.

Lance loved him.

In this exploding base, with burning sentinels and fighting aliens, Lance McClain had confessed his love to him.

It was the best day of his life.

* * *

0000-00

Just as Vel had told him, the explosions were going off just as they shot off in the escape pods. Since Lance was the only one who really knew how they worked, he made sure to be the last escape pod to leave with Dravla and Keith, insisting that Manson go down first in case something went wrong.

To Lance's utter shock, they had gotten out of there without much problems, every Coeihns making it out with their lives.

As the pods shot downward from the Galran ship, the other side of the Galra ship haul began to erupt in flames, just as planned. It was oddly… perfect? He half expected some giant beast to suddenly appear and ruin their flawless escape, but it never did.

"How did you know the other side was going to explode?" Dravla inquires, curious

"The Blade of Marmora," Lance tells him honestly, "They are a rebellion Galra group. Most Galra are lead by Zarkon, but they fight against him. They are on our side,"

"I see," Dravla nods, "I am grateful for the assist,"

Happy that Dravla was so chill with the Blade of Marmora, worried for a second that he would judge them simply for being Galran, he was glad to see him looking almost inspired to grow to be allied with them.

"I'm gonna go check on Keith," he tells him

"Yeah, go ahead. You two have been through a lot," Dravla pats Lance's shoulder, "I'm glad you both came out alive."

"You too, Dravla," Lance smiles at him.

Moving towards the back of the pod, which had begun to move over the city, self-piloted to land in a set location, Lance joined Keith.

He is sitting, staring out the window. "Hey," he says to him.

Startled a little, Keith turns to him with crimson cheeks. Not sure what he was blushing about, he raises an eyebrow, "You feeling okay? Are you woozy? Need something?" he asks, fussing over Keith. He had been _dead_ for a few seconds- you couldn't blame him for being clingy and wanting to make sure Keith was completely comfortable.

"I'm fine…" Keith nods. "Are you?"

"I'm fine," he reaches forward, brushing at a little bruise on Keith's cheek, "Nothing happened to you… right? Nothing too bad, that is. I-I mean, I know you uh-"

"I died," Keith says, still struggling to come to terms with that himself

Lance nods solemnly, "For a bit, yeah. But before then. Did anyone uh- do anything you before we met up?" he asks cautiously.

"Do you mean with Rashra?" Keith guesses

Lance flinches then nods, "He said he was going to try to, uh…" he trails off, not even able to say it. It made his tongue burn.

"He didn't," Keith assures him. "I'm fine. What about you? What happened to you after you were taken?"

"Had a talk with Rashra, got saved by a Blade of Marmora guy named Vel, and then met up with the King. Nothing that bad,"

"You look like hell," Keith frowns, not fully believing him.

"Oh, right- correction to my previous statement. Had a talk with Rashra, got beat up by Rashra, got saved by Vel, met up with the King."

"Why that no good- I'm glad I stabbed him," Keith growls darkly.

Lance's eyes doubled in size, "You stabbed him?"

"He tried to- you know, get me with him, so I stabbed him."

Lance's eyes held an unknown expression, "Did he touch you?"

"It's fine, Lance-"

"Did. He. Touch. You?" he repeats, unwavering and deadly. Knowing he wouldn't drop this till he got an answer, Keith averts his gaze, feeling a strange wave of butterflies in his stomach, the good kind- the ones that made him curl his toes in excitement, from Lance's change in tone. It was so much deeper than it usually was. Of course he should focus since Lance was mad, but he couldn't help let his mind wander.

"My chest, a little…. tried to kiss me too,"

Lance lifted a finger, swiped it along Keith's lips, then brushed said finger against his pants. Like he was rubbing something off, he took Keith's chin into his hands and kissed him.

Keith melted, gasping when Lance pulled away, commencing that toe-curling thing he mentioned earlier, "...What was that about?" he murmurs shakily.

"Now it's me," Lance tells him, "I'm the last one who tried to kiss you now."

Keith shivers, "Like there would be anyone else I would even want to kiss," He tugs him back in for a second one.

Lifting himself next to Keith, pulling him closer, uncaring to any Coeihns that might be watching, Lance hums between their lips, "How can you taste so good after all this?" he inquires, breathless.

The Red paladin chuckles, then lowers his gaze. Messing with his pants a little he peeks up at Lance shyly, "So uh… about what happened before- When I died…."

"You scared the living daylights out of me," Lance shifted a little closer to him, taking his hands into his.

"Sorry." Keith trails off, "But after that," he says, hoping he didn't sound too awkward

"After?"

"W-When I started breathing again?"

Lance blinks a few times, not understanding, "When you started breathing again?" he repeats.

"W-What you said," Keith clears his throat, "Did you mean it?"

"Huh?" Lance inquires.

Keith fumbles, pouting, "What you said before… you said you l-loved me." he curses his stutter at the end of the sentence, blushing furiously.

Lance freezes up, eyes wide. He had said that, hadn't he…? There was no way to avoid this, so honestly, he should just come clean. It wasn't like he was planning on hiding it from Keith anyway.

With a raging heart, he nods, "I did."

"Did you mean it?" Keith insists again, leaning towards him. Caught in his gaze, Lance felt something overwhelming him.

He breathes in, then out, "Yes,"

Keith is smiling, and Lance knows he's fallen hard, "You did?"

"Of course I did," He looks everywhere, purposively avoiding Keith's gaze before he works up the courage to ask, "And… you? What about you?"

Keith blinks at him, oblivious.

"Do you love me too?" Lance scratches his cheek.

Keith inhales then nods dumbly. "...I-I do!" he had a moment of silence before suddenly kick starting to a reply.

Lance can't help but laugh a little, relief flooding through his chest. "I love you," tilting Keith's chin, he kissed him, cuddling close till the escape pod landed to the Kingdom below.

Helping Keith to stand, they sauntered out to the awaiting Coeihns outside. Most had their weapons out, unsure of to the purpose of the escape pod. When Dravla lifted his hand to quell them, they lowered their arms and cheered.

The came at Dravla and the other Coeihns with dozens of questions, all which they answered the best they could. Dravla continuously stressed how it had been Keith and Lance who had saved everyone at the end of the day.

Trying to shrug Dravla off, or insist that it was a team effort- Lance couldn't seem to convince his Coeihn friend otherwise. Keith simply chuckles and pulled them aside, telling Lance that there was no point in trying to change his mind.

Knowing he was probably right, Lance wrapped his arm around Keith's waist and pressed their sides together, nuzzling into him. "You holding up?"

"I'm fine,"

"Feel dizzy? How's uh- how's your heart?" Lance lifts his hand to trace over Keith's shirt, gripping the fabric above his chest. Fear seized him, forcing him to imagine Keith suddenly falling over, dead and unable to come back this time.

"I'm not going anywhere, Lance," Keith promises him. Placing his palm over Lance's, he gave it a comforting squeeze. Lance believed him.

"LALA! KEEF!"

A second later, they hear an all too familiar squeal.

"Ruru?" Lance gasps, turning to follow the sound.

Before he could even comprehend what was happening, Tellru was in front of him. Her eyes were wide and wet with tears when she hugged him, "Lance!"

"Tellru!" Shocked yet happy to see her, he hugged her back tightly. At his feet, Ruru was scurrying past him to hug Keith who happily lifted her into his arms.

Behind him, Dravla lifted his head, tossing whoever he was talking with to the side, "My love!"

Hearing him, she sobbed and took off running in his direction. Uncaring to his injury, she tackled him to the ground, their daughter soon following the pile. Dravla was crying.

Either from the pain of his leg or from pure joy, it could go either way.

It was sweet regardless. Families were being reunited, Equivalents held close with their mates and children rejoicing. It only took so long for a guard to run up to Dravla and tell him some news.

With a little gasp, the Fifth champion pumps his fist into the air.

"The Galra are retreating and so are the Traveks," Dravla announced, "The day is ours!"

The Coeihns began to cheer, most looking to Lance and Keith, grateful for their rescue.

Manson even came up to thank them personally, shaking their hands, and smiling. When he realized Keith was leaning against Lance for support from his ankle, he called over a doctor.

"We should get that ankle looked at," Manson motions to it. "You two saved our lives today," he smiles, "We are eternally in your debt," as he bowed so did the rest of his people. Lance got a serious Mulan feeling and tried to look cool through the heat pooling in his cheeks.

After that, everything moved so fast. They set Keith's ankle back into place, Lance having to hold Keith's hand as they forcibly returned the bone in place, wincing when Keith screamed.

The Doctor apologized, and put two binds along his ankle, bandaging it to keep them in place. Looking over Lance and Keith for any other injuries, Lance was grateful when the doctor took the time to bandage his head.

He had been hit in the head enough the last couple days. It was probably a miracle he didn't have some sort of brain damage, but perhaps he should be careful going to sleep tonight?

Regardless, the rest of the day was spent counting the day, and rescuing anyone who got caught up in the debris of the Galran explosions. Tellru apologized to them and told them that they might not be able to make contact with the team today, simply because the King had so many things to do with the city in such a weak state.

They both understood and it was important to ensure no other attack would come- plus, they were honestly too tired to make it all the way to the castle.

"You two go get some sleep," Tellru says, "You've done more than enough. We can handle it from here." With a pat to their heads, she grins, "You two did good. I'm so proud,"

Beaming at her, the slowly limped their way back to the apartment. Lance had never been so happy to be there and was ready to collapse on that bed.

"Careful," Lance says as he helps Keith into the room and over to the bed, helping him to sit down. Making sure he was comfy, he reached up to scrub at Keith's cheeks, seeing how dirty it was. Deciding it would be best to clean their wounds to make sure they don't get infected, Lance moved to grab a wash cloth and other supplies, returning it sit before Keith.

An hour had passed, not a single word spoken between the two.

They were seated on the edge of their bed, a set of first aid supplies set to the side, their bodies turned to face each other.

It was an intimate moment- one almost too much for Lance to bare.

It reminded him of the first day they had been brought here to this apartment, where Keith had taken a cloth to his wounds after his rite for citizenship. Seated in a similar position, Keith gently dabbing at the scratches along his cheek, it held so much more passion now that he could see Keith's eyes.

The two never broke eye contact, purple meeting blue in a heavy stare down. Emotions swirled within Keith's irises too fast for Lance to really put a name to each other, but it was mind blowing.

Those eyes were his, he thought.

Taking a few second to work up his courage, Lance opened his mouth, his voice coming out in a crackly sound, "Keith…?"

"Yeah?" he asks, just as soft.

"I never gave you an answer before,"

Not sure what he means, Keith looks puzzled. "And answer for what?" he brushes his thumb over one of Lance's eyes brows.

Lance leans into the touch, "Yes," he tells him. Keith still doesn't understand, blinking rapidly when Lance kisses his palm. Left to wonder what Lance meant, the gears in his mind start to turn.

(" _Would you be mine, Lance?_ ")

Sucking in a little breath, like it was hard for him to breath right now, Keith covers his mouth. Lance smiles and leans in a bit, pressing his forehead to the red paladins.

"Yes," he repeats.

Keith is trembling, reaching out. He hesitates and then hits Lance's shoulder. Hard

"Ow!" He yelped in surprise, the intimate moment officially broken, "What the hell Keith!"

Looking overwhelmed, almost ready to start crying, Keith snaps at him, "Shut up! How could you have done this?!"

Lance blinked rapidly, not sure why he was upset "W-Which part in particular? Because a lot of shit has happened lately, Keith!"

"The challenge Rashra gave you!"

"Are you still on that?" Lance gawks at him. It was almost impressive how long Keith managed to hold a grudge, but man was it annoying too! That was just one of the things he supposed he loved about him though.

"That is what started this whole mess to begin with!" Keith turned to brush his hand to the corner of his eyes, brushing away a tear.

"I didn't have a choice!" Lance yells. Despite yelling at each other, he reaches forward to cup Keith's face, using his thumb to wipe away another tear.

"Yes, you did! You could have said no! You wouldn't have gotten hurt then!" Keith doesn't pull away, but continues to scream at his face, his voice breaking. The sound made Lance's heartache.

"You would have been taken away..." he shakes his head, knowing Keith was just upset. Too many things were placed on him that he hadn't had the time to properly be upset or angry about them. Now they were crashing back down on his emotions. "I couldn't let that happen," this sucked. All this yelling made him want to cry too, dammit.

"I would have been fine!" Keith babbled, "Y-You should have just- let me go to Rashra!"

Lance felt the hair on the back of his neck rise and his gut tightened. He grabbed Keith shoulders, " _Never!"_

Startled, Keith lost his anger for only a moment, heavy tears slipping down to his chin "Lance-" he choked.

"I didn't want the creep anywhere near you! Do you have any idea what he wanted to do to you, Keith?! What he would have tried to force you to do?!" Lance leans a closer, then closer- Keith ends up falling back against the mattress, his raven hair splaying out before Lance, framing wet and very wide eyes.

"L-"

Lance doesn't let him talk, and follows his descent to the bed, looming over him, "It kills me just thinking about it…" he tells Keith, "To think that there was a small chance it _might_ have happened! He wouldn't have treated you right, Keith. He wouldn't have treated you like the gift you are!" He poured his heart out, upset and exhausted, too tired to care about how much he was yelling, or how raw it made his voice feel. Tomorrow's problems were for tomorrow's Lance after all, "He wouldn't have cherished you! Or been gentle with you! He wouldn't have told you that he cared about you, or that he loved your smile and your laugh. He wouldn't have seen just how beautiful you are and how wonderful your very soul is," tears are clouding his eyes.

"La-" Keith is reaching up, clinging to his shirt, trying to tug him down.

"He would have torn you apart- he would have treated you like an object- - he would- would have…" Lance choked a little, "H-He-"

"Stop," Keith cups the sides of his face, sounding close to breaking, "Stop Lance.."

Lance shudders, his breath heavy on Keith's neck. As their eyes met and held, the tight atmosphere turned into something else entirely, something with a lot more care.

Lance, barely brushing his lips against Keith's before he whispered, "I will never let someone like that take you away from me,"

Keith inhales, lets the feeling tighten in his chest, and then exhales, feeling so much lighter than before. Taking Lance's face into his hand, he kisses him, his entire body feeling molten—liquid and hot.

Honestly, how was this Cuban boy even real?

After a few water works and some small kisses, Keith pulled away to stare at him, his gaze so intense that it made Lance feel self-conscious. His hands slowly slithered up Keith's arm, tugging on his sleeve like a child wishing for attention.

"Hey…" he says quietly. When Keith doesn't reply, he tries again, wanting Keith to talk to him, "Say something."

Keith kissed him.

Lance ducks his head down, red to his ears. Keith leaned in closer till his lips touched those reddening ears, nipping at them lightly.

"K-Keith… "Lance stammers.

"Lance," Keith cuts him off, takes his face into his hands, and says with wide eyes, "I… I don't want to waste another second,"

Lance blinks, "What do you mean?"

"I don't want to rush anything or do something you aren't ready for but… But I think we've taken plenty of time. I know what I want and that is you, Lance."

Lifting his hands to grip Keith's wrist, Lance blinked rapidly, "...Y-Yeah?"

"Yes," Keith tells him. Taking a few deep breaths, he presses his forehead to Lance's. "I learned today that anything could happen, and one day you might not be here, or I might not be here. So I want to make every moment count."

"What exactly are you saying right now Keith?" Lance whispers,

Keith's finger shyly reaches up, brushing Lance's lower lip. Licking his own, Keith says, "I want you to be my equivalent, Lance… You won me in the games all those months ago so now I want to- I want you to make it official."

"You do?"

Keith nods sheepishly, "Do you feel the same?"

"Yes," Lance kisses him. Pulling back, Keith grips his shoulders, his breathing coming out in shuddering gasps of anticipation.

"Are… Are you sure?" he asks, not wanting to push Lance into anything.

"I've wanted to for weeks now, Keith," Lance admits. Reaching out to take his face into his hands, Lance brings them closer. "Will you be my Equivalent, Sweetheart?"

Keith falls apart, practically throwing himself onto of Lance to kiss him. Taking only a moment to kiss him back, they scoot a little bit more onto the bed without breaking contact, tossing pillows back and forth and kicking the blanket off.

They are awkward, to say the least.

Squeezing in weird places, pulling and smacking their lips together so desperately, they have no true pace.

Lance couldn't even remember losing his glasses within the moment, but that didn't matter when Keith reached under his shirt a little. His fingers were freezing and made him jump.

"Jeez-" Lance reached down to grab them, holding them between them to warm them up, "Why are you so cold?" he murmured against his lips

Keith pants, "I dunno…"

"Are you scared?" Lance inquired softly, realizing the red paladin was trembling.

He blinks, then presses a little closer, "A little, but I'm okay," with a heated gaze, his slowly drags his eyes don't Lance's body, reaching downward with his free hand

"What about your ankle?" Lance looks down at it wearily, "Maybe we shouldn't do this. At least not tonight. I don't want to strain it- EECK!" Lance shrieked when Keith's hand slide between his legs. "K-Keith?"

"My ankle is fine." Keith says with a solemn determination. "I want to do this and I don't want my ankle to stop this."

"B-But… Um…" Lance nervously reaches down to grip Keith's wrists, "A-A little bold, are we?" he says with a weak smile.

"Oh uh... W-We have to do foreplay or something, right?" Keith looks unsure suddenly, wondering if he moved too fast.

"What the hell kind of stuff did Dravla teach you?" Lance mumbles

"...A lot of weird things." Keith stares him dead in the eye,

Lance can feel his pulse shooting a mile a second. Oh boy...

* * *

 **(THIS BE WHERE THE SMUT WOULD BE- IF IT WERE HERE... But it isn't. So if you want to read it, got to my Archive of my Own page to "smiles4voltron" to the story "Let Me Catch My Breath (The NSFW side of the story)" and read it there if you want to)**

* * *

He couldn't hold himself up if he wanted to and he needed this, this closeness.

Falling against Lance, he waited until he had softened enough to slip out of him naturally- Somehow, that loss was immediate and almost painful.

Below, Lance sobbed his name.

He… Was he sobbing?

There were definitely tears in Lance's eyes and he had no chance to stop them, so he just clung to Keith, gripping his shoulders tightly. It was an eternity before he felt fingers in his hair, gently massaging his scalp.

"Lance?" Keith rasped, clearly worried and Lance's gut clenched because that was the last thing Keith should be feeling after what they had just done.

"Sorry," he sniffled. "Sorry. I'm just…overwhelmed." He swallowed and forced himself to look up, giving Keith a watery smile. "Do you…That was just so different from the first time. This was so much more than that. So much more. I loved it," He shuddered and buried his face into Keith's chest. He wanted to tell Keith how much he loved him and how terrified he was—terrified all the time—of ruining everything. He wanted to, but the words wouldn't come.

Keith, though, in some measure, seemed to understand, and he wrapped his arms around Lance and held him tight.

"What about you?' Lance lifts his head up to him nervously, eyes wide, "Was it…. Okay?"

"Okay?" Keith smiles, "It was better than okay, Lance. It was perfect."

Years seemed to lift from Lance's shoulders after hearing that and he tugs Keith a little closer, kissing him.

"We should clean up," Keith finally murmured, but he made no move to release Lance. He wouldn't until he knew that Lance was okay, taking his time to kiss away each little tear.

Loving the gentle affection, Lance nuzzled into him.

"I don't want to move,"

"Me either," Keith agrees.

Lance's chuckles vibrate from his chest to Keith's, and the two felt so warm. "I love you…" Lance yawns.

Keith tightens his grip, and shifts to spoon Lance within his arms, "I love you too,"

Despite saying they should go clean up it didn't take long for Lance to fall asleep, tucked safely in Keith's arms, right where he belonged.

Sleep didn't come as easy for the red paladin, who stared at his new Equivalent in dumbstruck awe.

Taking the time to appreciate Lance, Keith cradled him, brushing his fingers up and down the side of his slumbering face.

"I love you," he whispers quietly, kissing Lance's forehead. "I love you…" repeating the line a few more times, dreading the next day to come, Keith brought Lance closer, unwilling to part with him.

They shouldn't have had sex, he concluded painfully. Not because he regretted it- never that, but because now he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to part with Lance when tomorrow came.

He had been called possessive before and thought he was getting better at it- but now it felt like all that progress had just been tossed down the drain.

Whatever feelings he had for Lance's previously, they had only increased. He had never felt so protective and loving to anything in his entire life, and the thought of that terrified him.

* * *

 **I somehow managed to get this chapter out really quickly 0.0**

* * *

 **Reviews:**

 **AngiMK:** YES! IT IS JASON TODD ;-;

 **Pinkdoughnuts:** I'm sorry XD I'm so sorry. I hope this chapter made up for it

 **Adrainna Agray:** Oh my gosh thank you so much!I may or may not make you suffer on purpose XD

 **Ewink18:** I'm sorry! Look! They do! Thet got to do all of that in this chapter! Everything is okay now! XD

 **.X:** I'm sorry poor heart! HE DIDN'T DIE THOUGH! YAYYYYY! XD hahahaha thank you so much for commenting

 **Ashlielle:** They were so close, and yet so far~ I'm kind of sorry! XD WE are friends! I promise! I'm just a friend who likes to stab you in the heart!

 **DeathLord-92:** Oh my gosh / That is the sweetest thing ever. I love Dirty Laundry and having someone compare my stuff to them makes me so happy. I can't even breath. You are the best, and you review made me soo happy, THANK YOU SO MUCH! Probably one of my favorite reviews so far!


	28. Love and Fear

When he woke up the next morning, Lance could feel two hands on the side of his throat. They were gentle, rubbing small circles. Humming at the pleasing sensation he asked, "Keith?"

"Yeah…"

"What are you doing?" he peeked an eye open to smile at him

"Just… stuff,"

Lance really tried not laugh, "Uh- o-okay? But uh- why are you touching my neck?" it was starting to get a little ticklish.

A finger pressed to his pulse, "I just- I thought you were breathing weird…"

"Were you worried?" he teased.

"Yes." A kiss, warm enough to give him goosebumps, grazed his throat.

Not expecting the honesty, Lance feels himself blush, "Oh…" He is very pleased and grateful when Keith sits ups a little and kisses him so he can avoid embarrassing himself by speaking.

After a few blissful seconds, the two pull away, sighing, "I'm okay, Keith." he assures him.

"I know,"

"I'm the one who should be fussing over you, Ya know," Lance pouts at him, "You are the one who actually died."

"Just for a couple of seconds," Keith says in a nonchalant manner.

"I died for those couple of seconds," Lance frowns, gripping Keith's mullet and tugging him back down,

"Oh," Keith blinks dumbly, "...Sorry," he bows his head to Lance's throat, peppering it with apology kisses. Lance can't help but forgive in. Tilting his head a little to the side, he sighs when Keith sucks on the pumping pulse under his ear, ravishing the spot. He groans Keith's name, then feels something.

"Well," Lance teases, feeling said _something_ brush at his thigh, "Someone is happy to see me,"Keith leans a little closer, "You're my Equivalent now- what else do you expect?" Keith grinds his teeth to Lance's lower lip, making the other gasp. Light headed, Lance sheepishly wrapped his arms around Keith's shoulder, swept up by his scent and eyes.

Keith leans a little closer, "You're my Equivalent now- what else do you expect?" Keith grinds his teeth to Lance's lower lip, making the other gasp. Light headed, Lance sheepishly wrapped his arms around Keith's shoulder, swept up by his scent and eyes.

"The virgin no more," Lance mumbles before Keith shifts on top of him.

An hour later, the room filled with sweet moans and trembling gasps. Just as sticky as it was the night before, Lance panted against the mattress. The lube they had found in the cabinets before was practically gone at this point. Keith was very thorough in trying and making sure it was as painless as possible for Lance, which was appreciated.

But he sure was… motivated, was the only word Lance could think of. Lance had never imagined having sex with Keith would be this mind blowing, but oh, it was.

Lance pants to catch his breath, caught in Keith's embrace, allowing the paladin to suckle on his throat as they calm down from their climaxes.

He thought Keith had a problem with hickey before, jeez.

"You are unbelievable," he says with nothing but affection.

Keith chuckles, giving his ear a little nip.

Turning away, soar as hell, Lance groans

"You okay?" Keith asks."Just sore." his whole body was in pain, but it was worth it to wake up with Keith still next to him. Lance forced himself to sit up. His legs were still tingling when he stood up, his hair poofing out in different directions from major bed head.

"Just sore." his whole body was in pain, but it was worth it to wake up with Keith still next to him. Lance forced himself to sit up. His legs were still tingling when he stood up, his hair poofing out in different directions from major bed head.

Leaving Keith on the bed to bask in the glow of after sex, he lifts a red shirt from the ground. Very aware it was Keith's; he slipped it on and went to make breakfast.

Keith shuffles over to him not much later.

He had grown very clingy, but Lance didn't mind, feeling just as much so.

This was proven when arms slide along his hips and Keith titled Lance's head back to kiss him. Enjoying the sight of Lance walking around nude with just a shirt on, Keith's shirt to be exact, which was something that barely covered his lower half, he pressed his nose to Lance's neck and inhaled.

"I want you," he whispers.

Lance leans back into him, swaying his hips back into Keith's, "We literally just did it a few minutes ago," he reminds him sweetly.

"Really?" Keith honestly sounds surprised, "It feels much longer than that,"

Grinning, Lance turns in his arms to kiss him, "I've created a beast. A sex beast." he concludes, "How can you even have that kind of stamina?"

"Is that a yes then?" Keith inquired, batting his eyelashes hopefully.

"Keith," Lance laughs, "I'm making breakfast,"

"And? What difference does that make? It will still be here when we're done,"

"We only have a few hours before Dravla and Tellru show up to take us to the King," Lance reminds him gently.

"I know… that's why I want to spend as much time as I can alone with you," Keith nibbles on his neck, "So tell me… What can I do to get you out of your shirt today, Lance?" his voice held a husky, wheeler-dealer tone, the kind of voice for which Lance was likely to do anything. He imagined that voice whispering in his ear, issuing wicked orders, making him hard as steel.

"You are a hard man to say no to, Keith Kogane," Lance turns, lifts one of his legs, wrapping it around Keith's hips to pull him closer, brushing their lower bodies together. Moaning at the delicious contact, Keith lifts Lance's other leg, pressing him back into the counter.

Lance happily follows, letting his hands wander across the red paladin's red back, pleased at the strong muscles that awaited him. These muscles were his. These biceps were his. These eyes, those lips, that mullet- all of this, was his.

Perhaps he was a little possessive too, huh?

Chuckling a little, he licks along the roof of Keith's mouth. "Hey," Lance murmurs when he eventually pulled back for air.

"What?" Keith inquires breathlessly.

"I turn 19 today."

Keith inhales sharply, tugging away to look Lance in the eyes; "It's your birthday today?"

Lance nods.

"Are you serious? Why didn't you tell me sooner! I haven't gotten you anything!"

Lance is puzzled, "You don't have to,"

Keith pulls him a little closer, pouting at him, "Yes I do. It is the day you were born… this is the most important day,"

Lance can't help but smile goofily at Keith's oblivious ways at making his heart pound, "You are sweet," he kisses him, "But I'm good,"

"I want to get you something," Keith insists, "What do you want?"

Lance wrapped his arms around the red paladin's shoulders, smiling at Keith. Still seated on the counter of their kitchen, he kicked his feet out idly, pursing his lips in thought.

"Nothing comes to mind,"  
"I'll get you whatever you want,"

Lance sighs, "I don't know- I'm really okay with anything- even just going to get dinner or something."

"We can get dinner. I'll make you something,"

Liking that idea, Lance nods, "A day with you would make me happy,"

"That is usually how our days go," Keith grins, "Since that communication block is down, we can finally get into contact with the team, so we most likely won't be on this planet much longer."

Lance lowers his gaze, almost sad about that, "Oh yeah," he sighs, "I miss the others, but, I think I'm gonna miss this place,"

Keith nods, "I'm going to miss Tellru, Dravla, and Ruru."

"Harri and Manson," Lance adds, "I'll miss everyone. This planet really grew on me once you got past all the weird rules."

"Well, no one said we couldn't visit. Once we take out Zarkon, we can come see this place whenever we want," Keith leans forward a little, nuzzling into Lance's shoulder, "Maybe even… get our own actual house or something,"

"Keith Kogane," Lance grins at him, "Are you asking me to move in with you?"

Keith reels back, stammering, "W-We technically already live together, so I thought it would be better to get an actual house than an apartment,"

"You sly dog," Lance makes a funny noise, "Just charging a head. Next thing I know you'll ask to marry me," he swoons, pretending to faint. Keith catches him, pouting

"Didn't you say Equivalency is like marriage? Aren't we- already…?" he trails off, his face turning a dark red. Lance peeks at him, just as surprised that Keith would bring that up.

He attempts to play it cool to hide the fact that his heart was moving a mile a minute, and says playfully,

"Hmm, I guess you're right. On this planet, we are technically married," he realizes. Looking down to his Equivalent bond, which suddenly felt very heavy, he moves the ring from his index finger to his ring finger. Because if they were married, it was supposed to be there, right?

They both blink at the sight before Keith starts yelling, flustered.

"W-Why did you change it to your ring finger!?"

"You just said we were married! That is where the ring goes when you're married!" Lance yells at him, humiliated now for doing such an embarrassing thing. He reaches down to take it off and put it back but Keith is stopping him.

"You already moved it- You can't take it back!"

"You were just yelling at me for moving it! Don't just change your mind!"

"If you moved it you have to keep it there!" Keith insists.

"Well, then you-" Lance wraps his legs around Keith's hips to stop him from escaping as he grabs his hand. Plucking the ring from his index, he holds Keith down to switch it to his ring.

"Don't put it there!" Keith shrieks, his face turning crimson.  
"Equivalent bonds are supposed to go on this finger anyway! We're Equivalents now!" forcing it on, the two look at each other with a long-term pause.

Slowly blushing, not sure what else to say, they look at the ground.

They were basically married now….

"U-Um," Lance struggles to start a conversation, not sure what they could say after that. "Are we supposed to celebrate or something?"

"Celebrate?"

"Well, Dravla and Tellru said that when they became Equivalents they spent 3 or 4 days along together to celebrate it… like a h-honeymoon." when he peeks at Keith, the red paladin's eyes couldn't be wider.

"You…" he gulps, "Want to have a honeymoon?"

Lance covers his mouth, "No! I just- That is just normal things to do when you get married isn't it? Or become Equivalents? Don't we have to follow the rules? I'm not saying I want to I just- I mean I kind off want to but…."

Was it too early to even be talking about marriage, even if they kind of already were in alien terms?

How long were people supposed to know each other before they get married anyway? Or was it just based on the couple? Of course, Lance hasn't been dating Keith since they first arrived however many months ago.

They arrived a general 6 or 7 months ago, right? And really started to like each other around the first month or so….

Did he even want to get married? He wasn't even 20 yet so he definitely shouldn't rush into this. And just because he was married to Keith in Coeihn terms doesn't mean they technically have to follow that off of the planet. They still had plenty of time to make a decision

But Marriage is important so it wasn't like he could just pretend they weren't in some way…

Lance didn't know! It wasn't like they were married in earth terms, just in space terms! It's like Vegas or something, right? What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. So while you can get married there, not many people truly consider it a proper marriage, right? Or something like that?

….Lance didn't really want this Equivalent thing to be something that only lasted here on this planet. He totally wanted to take it with him back into space and all the way back to Earth to proudly present to his parents.

Lance groans in frustration, "I dunno, okay? I just- I love you. Even just to celebrate the Equivalency here on this planet, I want that time with you. I want-"

Keith cuts him off with a kiss, panting, "You can't offer yourself to me for three days," he shakes his head, "If you give me that much time I might not ever let you go again."

Lance puts a hand to his chest when his heart starts to pound, "Well maybe I don't want you too…?" he whispers.

"Lance," Keith warns, "I don't think I'd be able to control myself if you gave yourself to me for that time… Having you alone for three days wouldn't be enough if we started. My possessive streak would increase ten fold,"

Lance considered that, and Keith could be right, but… "I'm not too worried,"

"You've seen how I can get," Keith disagrees.

"I know, but I also know that you would never do anything to hurt me, or make me uncomfortable," he twirls a finger through Keith's hair, "If I told you to stop, or back off, I know you would. So you can get as possessive as you want, I don't mind it. I kind of like that possessive side of you a little bit. But I'll be sure to tell you when it's gone too far once we actually get to that point."

Keith's whole body is numb in shock at the pure trust Lance had in him. "I'll… start planning for a honeymoon then," he murmurs.

Coming to a stilled silence, Lance tightens and loosens his grip on Keith's shoulders.

It sounded so embarrassing when he said it out loud. Especially how neither of them seemed to even deny that it was, in fact, a sort of honeymoon.

When he realized Keith wasn't going to say anything else, Lance forced a laugh that sounded choppy, "You don't have to make a big deal about it."

"Yes I do," Keith husks into his shoulder, "I'm not good at… romance, but I promise I'll try my very best to sweep you off your feet,"

Sinking into his embrace, Lance smiles, because Keith doesn't even realize he already has. "I'll look forward to it then," he says, deciding he would leave it up to Keith to what they did.

He wasn't even sure what you were supposed to do on honeymoons anyway other than travel somewhere together. It was kind of like a vacation right, for just two people? To Lance, their entire time here felt like a vacation… a very stressful, fear inducing vacation, but still a vacation.

"Lance," Keith speaks up softly.

Nuzzling into him, Lance inhales his smell then hums, "Yeah?"

"You… still didn't say what you wanted for your birthday," he grumbles, like a pouty child.

"I told you that dinner was fine... You can even consider the preparation for the uh- honeymoon, as my birthday gift," Lance bumps his nose, giving it an eskimo kiss. Ever since he learned Keith was really fond of those, he's been doing it nonstop lately.

He peeks up at Lance, "Nothing else?"

Lance contemplates it, an idea coming to his head but it sounding too embarrassing to say out loud, "Nothing, it's- Nothing,"

"No, what is it. Tell me," Keith insists.

"It's selfish… and weird,"

"Tell me,"

"Just- I dunno… don't leave,"

Keith curled his lip up, not sure what he meant, "Don't leave?"

"Don't go where I can't follow… Don't die. Stay in my life one way or another," Lance looks away, his voice a hoarse whisper.

"Lance," Keith kissed him. "I was gonna ask you the same thing,"

"Well, then there you go- that could be the best birthday gift you can give me,"

Keith smiles, "Happy birthday,"

Returning to the small kisses, Keith suddenly pushed against Lance, pressing him tightly to the counter, "So… You just want me as a gift, huh?" Keith hummed a little. Lance gave him a wary glance at his tone.

"Well- I didn't say it exactly like that-"

"I know I would definitely want you as a birthday gift," Keith hums into his chest, nibbling at his collarbone.

"You are just trying to get in another round of sex before we go, aren't you…?" Lance accuses him suspiciously.

"...Yes," he slowly admits, "But it wasn't like we weren't already on our way to that anyway," he motions to their position.

"You are a pervert, Kogane," Lance rolls his eyes.

"Hell yeah," he bites down on Lance nipple through his shirt. Lance's cries out in surprise

"Keith-! You ass!" he hits his head

"It's your birthday," Keith smiles slyly, "Allow me to start it on a good note,"

Lance throws his head back and sighs at the ceiling, "You are unbelievable. Remind me why I love you?"

Keith makes a cute little face and shrugs.

"Oh yeah, that's why," Lance cups his face and kisses him. "Well, either way… you're still healing,"

"My ankle was fine when we did it last night," Keith tells him, "...And when we woke up,"

"Right, so we've already done it today, so we don't want to strain the injury, so it can actually heal," Lance rolls his eyes. Keith huffs at him, knowing he had a point, but still not willing to just let Lance go like this. "We still gotta take a bath and get ready for the day."

Keith doesn't seem to want to move, scooting his hips forward to brush Lance's insistently. It made the Blue Paladin's legs quiver and he inhales.

"You are cheating," he accuses him outright, already putty in his hands.

"This isn't sex," Keith thrusts forward again, grinding against his Equivalent. Already beginning to feel the affects of those dangerous hips on his own, Lance huffs.

"Might as well be, you cheat. We'll get the counter dirty… We'll get dirty," Despite his words, Lance is already grinding back, small gasps moving past his lips through their small talk.

"We're gonna take a bath later anyway," Keith smirks and that's what does it for Lance. Gasping, he hooks his legs against Keith's thighs and tugs him as close as they can get..

"That is… a compelling argument," he groans.

Needless to say, their counter became a mess just as Lance has predicted. With a little cleaning up, the two wrapped some towels around their waists, grabbed some clothes, and sauntered their way down to the cleansing room.

Lance had to help Keith put on the small cover for his ankle so the bandages wouldn't get wet, but overall, there wasn't any issue getting it. It felt really nice actually.

With everything that had happened, it felt like weeks since Lance got the chance to bathe.

"Ankle doing okay?" Lance inquires as he helps lower Keith into the water.

"It's good."

They bathed back to back, a small agreement they had set before stepping into the water. Lance knew if they looked each other in the eye, they wouldn't get any actual bathing down. Lance could hardly keep his hands to himself, and Keith wasn't any better if their morning activities hadn't given enough indication to that.

"Soap?" Lance hands it to Keith over his shoulder.

"Thanks."

"Lofa?"

"Thanks," another pass over shoulders.

"Shampoo?"

"Thanks?" Keith is starting to sound confused

"Skin care cream?"

"I… guess?"

Lance smirks, "My endless devotion?"

When Keith reached back, expecting to take an actual object of some kind, he ended up high-fiving Lance instead. His face erupted to crimson a second later.

"Lance," he growls, embarrassed and trying to hide it with anger.

Lance was grinning, feeling victorious.

"Yes, sweetheart?" he cooes, loving how he could feel Keith shiver against his back at the pet name.

"D-Don't…" Keith warns, realizing he had come to grow officially entranced, and perhaps obsessed with the notion of sex. And Lance wasn't helping that, at all. Now that he had Lance, he couldn't get enough of him! It was insane, and no wonder people sought out relationships so much back on Earth.

It was a great feeling to be in love! He felt so happy and giddy

But also kind of… nerve wracking? Keith felt so self-conscious about his actions and words now. He didn't want to upset Lance, or embarrass himself in front of him. It was almost like he had a certain expectation he felt he needed to keep up now and wasn't quite sure how to act completely normal.

"Hey," Lance presses back against him, "Want me to wash your hair?"

Keith nods sheepishly, "Sure…" Feeling Lance turn around, a set of smooth hands reached up to run through his hair. The pale was lifted up to his head and water poured down to his shoulders. Keith closed his eyes to prevent water getting in them and allowed himself to simply feel Lance's gentle touch.

Lance even began to hum, his fingers scraping Keith's scalp. Scrubbing it clean with shampoo, making sure to thoroughly rinse it through, Lance gave a little kiss to Keith's shoulder, "Done,"

"I can wash your hair," Keith offers.

"You'll get shampoo in my eyes," Lance shakes his head.

"I will not."

Looking skeptical, Lance turns back around, "Okay…"

30 seconds later, Lance was whining to Keith that shampoo was dripping down his forehead. Keith panicked and leaned forward to wipe it off, but it just made both of them slip and land face first in the water.

"Keith," Lance laughs when they surface.

"I'm sorry," he popped up a second later, "I've never washed someone else's hair before."

Lance took Keith's hands, smiling at him with an adoring look on his face, "Well, then I'll show you," Lifting Keith's hands he put them to his head and moved them for him, scrubbing lightly and brushing the shampoo away whenever it trailed down Lance's face. "Then take the pale," Lance looks down and closes his eyes. Keith understood this part and poured a few buckets of water on Lance's head till all the shampoo had been rinsed away.

"At this part, I would say we use a little conditioner," Lance tells him, "But Coeihns don't seem to have that in this world," he sighs sadly. "You done?"

"Yeah,"

The two get up to dry off, and Lance knows Keith is watching him. And maybe he watches Keith back, admiring the view. Almost sad when Keith tosses on his clothes, Lance lifts a towel to dry his hair and says, "That was nice,"

"After everything, we went through, yeah," Keith agrees, taking the wrapping off his ankle. "What do you want to do now?"

"Go check the town, and see how it is doing. Maybe even go see if Manson is free enough to send out that signal to the team,"

As the two began towards the door, Keith grabbed his arm, "Wait,"

Lance did, turning to him. Feeling Keith pressing a little closer, he gripped at Lance's shoulder, squeezing them. He did that a few times, savoring their last little moments of alone time before the rest of the day, "I love you," he adjusted Lance's shirt collar.

"I love you too," Lance leaned down, his forehead grazing Keith's ear.

"Lance," Keith pulled the collar of his shirt down a little. Lance wasn't expecting a kiss to soon follow- trailing from his collarbone to his ear. Lance was weak to the attention, tilting his head to give the red paladin better access.

Feeling Keith nibble on his ear he gasped and pressed his weight to the wall behind him, pinned. Letting Keith have his way for as long possible, he stammered, "We- I gotta- We have to go," The sweet kisses suddenly stung when lips turned to teeth and Lance tensed, "K-Keith-!?"

He was biting down, teeth digging deep enough to catch the blue paladin off guard.

Lance couldn't believe he ended up moaning- he hated pain, but having Keith bite him was strangely arousing… Those were the kind of unknown waters Lance wasn't aware he needed to travel.

Barely able to get out a whimper, Lance tapped Keith's shoulder desperately, unable to push him away.

Sucking once or twice, Keith pulled away to lap his tongue over the spot, admiring the budding bruise. "There,"

Lance was making a drawn out and very confused noise, "W-What was that for?" While hickeys had always been a thing for them, they had never downright bit each other. The entire area was blossoming with a big red bruise and Lance was positive in a few hours he would be able to see the perfect indentation of Keith's teeth.

Keith shrugged, "I just felt like it…"

"That- you- what?"

"Tellru said it was a means of marking,"

Lance was blushing, "Marking?"

"So people know if they mess with you, they mess with me. She called it a uh-" he paused to recall the word, hands already reaching up and entangling in Lance's hair. Pulling him forward his whispers, "Territorial love bite,"

Lance shivers when Keith kisses him, goosebumps shooting up his arms.

"You…" he collapses into him a little, "You are lucky you are cute,"

Keith grins from ear to ear.

After that, they meet with Tellru and Dravla, holding their breath as they approached. At first it was normal with some greetings and small talk of the damage around town, asking Dravla how his leg was, especially since he needed to be sat down in a wheelchair by doctor's orders, and then-

The two Coeihns inhaled through theirs noses. At first they looked confused, as if they had smelled wrong. They looked at each other, then at the Klance duo, finally, they screamed.

"OH MY GOD!" Tellru and Dravla were jumping up and down- at least, Dravla tries as much as he could in his wheelchair, "Someone pull out the good wine, THESE TWO ARE ACTUALLY EQUIVALENTS!"

Rubbing the back of his neck, Lance chuckled nervously, "Y-Yeah."

"KEITH!" Tellru was shaking his hand, "I'm so proud of you!"

"I really don't think this is something you need to be proud of," he says awkwardly.

"It is!" she disagrees, "I'm so happy for both of you! I mean- I can't-" she cuts off, then steps back. "Wait wait- how long ago did you two have sex? Did I just realize this? Did you do it a few days ago or was it last night?"

"That is kind of private, don't you think?" Lance frowns at her.

"But are you two okay?" Dravla inquired, looking worried. "If it's only been a day, how are you two able to walk out in public like this?"

"What do you mean?" Keith asks.

"Oh well- This must be another difference between Coeihns and humans," Tellru concludes. Noticing how confused they were, "Coeihns, when we mate for the first time, go into a sort of heat. You usually don't see new founded Equivalents for days," she chuckles, "I guess humans aren't like that?"

"No," they shake their heads, eyes wide.

"They must be more like Traveks then. Traveks are similar in that they can have multiple partners and don't connect in a deep level like us Coeihns," Dravla explains,"They also don't go into a heat,"

"They also don't go into a heat,"

"Do Traveks have marriage and stuff then?" Lance inquires.

"No, not at all. It's more of a "do it with no emotional relation with the other" kind of society over there," Dravla shakes his head. Lance wasn't willing to them him that some people in their society were like that too. It was hard to think about every single person being like that.

"Well then, I'm just glad to see you two finally official," Tellru looks so happy. "You two were made for each other after all,"Tightening their grips on their hands, the two stare at their feet, flustered "Thanks,"

Tightening their grips on their hands, the two stare at their feet, flustered "Thanks,"

"B-But hey, is Manson around? We know a lot has happened, and we don't want to rush anybody, but if there is a chance the Galra will come back, we would like to contact our team and get some help," Lance announces.

"Oh of course," They nod. "He's busy, no doubt, but I'm sure he has time to send a quick message,"

Thrilled to hear that, the group made their way to the castle. The Kingdom was a wreck. While it seemed a lot of buildings managed to stay standing, the roads themselves were a mess- torn up from the ground and cracking in pot holes. While most could walk or talk Parlogs everywhere, it seemed everyone was forced to take the Kever's if they wished to travel long distances, since the bugs could easily maneuver around the damage.

Needless to say, it took a lot longer than normal to get up there. Tellru even went to stop in the shop during their wait to grab something.

She had this odd glint in her eyes as she returned with a little bag, smiling smugly.

"What is that?" Dravla asked her.

"A surprise," With nothing else to say, they jumped onto the Kever. They were squished, a Coeihn on each side of him. Throughout the ride, Lance ended up have to sit towards the back of Dravla's wheel chair to stop himself from getting shoved off the Kever altogether. Tellru and Keith managed to find some higher seats, but Keith definitely wasn't a happy camper.

"Hope they can fix the roads soon," Lance grunts

"Me too. Not so easy on a wheelchair," Dravla sighs.

"How long do you need to be on that thing anyway?"

"Few months."

"Sorry to hear that," Lance wondered if the team could arrive soon, maybe they could just put Dravla into one of the healing pods? He was sure Allura would allow that, especially since Dravla had done so much for them. Smiling at the thought of seeing the team, and possibly so soon, he fidgeted in his seat. Dravla chuckles at him, and then lifts his hand,

"What's that?" he motions to Lance's neck, as if he saw an injury.

Not sure what he meant, Lance titled his head to the side. Dravla burst out laughing.

"Ah- Tellru was talking to him, huh?" he cackles.

"What?" Lance frowned

"That mark on your neck," there were so many on Lance's neck, which one did he- he pointed to the large bite mark Keith had left a few hours before.

Lance scrambles to cover it, lifting his collar a little higher. He stammers, "T-This? Oh, it's um-"

"A territorial love bite," Dravla says knowingly, then sighs, "Yeah… At least Keith only gave you one-" he lowers the collar of his shirt a bit, revealing _many_ marks, "Tellru didn't leave a single spot untouched. It is kind of her thing she does whenever something dangerous like yesterday happens…. Or when we go shopping sometimes. She just gets into the mood to make them at random, I guess. From the looks of it, she got Keith doing it too."

The idea of Keith doing every so often sounded kind of pleasing to Lance's ear and he ran his finger over it affectionately.

"Don't be afraid to show it off my friend," Dravla chuckled, "It means you're loved,"

Lance slowly lifted his collar down. Loved, huh?

He liked the sound of that. Of course, for embarrassment sake, he would have to put a limit to how many Keith could do, but for now, he was pleased with the one he had.

When they finally arrived to the castle, amazed to see in such well condition, they made their way up to the steps.

"You doing okay?" Lance asks, looking at Keith's ankle. They had given him a crutch to walk, but he seemed pretty insistent on walking around on his own.

"Fine," he assures Lance.

Passing the guards, who stopped them for only a moment, they met King Manson within the royal hall.

He turns to them with a smile, welcoming them with a bow. "Lance, Keith. I see you two are recovering well,"

"More of less," Keith says, glancing down at his ankle. "What about you?"

"I am well," Looking them over, Manson says, "I assume you are here to request that I send your message?"

"Yes," they nod.

With a wave of his finger, the King wastes no time in guiding them towards the back of the castle to a strange room. Within there is a control panel that connects to a large satellite kind of device powered by a glowing crystal looks down at it in awe, "Is this what you use to communicate out into space?"

Lance looks down at it in awe, "Is this what you use to communicate out into space?"

"That is correct," Moving to the panel, Manson places his palm to the device. Closing his eyes, the crystal glows once before the satellite begins to move. "Any request for you message?"

"Tell them it's from Keith and Lance! That we are here and alive and um- like, hurry up and get us?" Lance shrugs.

"That sounds about right," Keith chuckles.

Smiling Manson nods and places the message into the signal. Typing in a few things, he pressed a button and the satellite turned.

Lance had expected something huge to happen, but it ended up just make a small buzzing noise.

The room was dead silent after.

"Is it- good?" he asked

"Your message is being sent." the King announced.

"Whoa, really?!" he gasped, "Just like that?"

"Just like that," he chuckles.

Lance cheered, reaching out and pulled Keith into a hug. Lifting him by his waist, he spun the red paladin around.

"Alright! Voltron team, here we come!"

Keith leans forward, laughing into his shoulder, "Lance! Put me down!"

Reluctantly placing him back to the ground, Lance pulls back to grin. "To think it was just that easy."

"Makes me wish we had found the Galra sooner," Keith says, "…Almost," he had rather enjoyed his time here on the planet, even despite it's up and downs.

"I'm glad to hear this," Dravla grins at them, nodding to his King, "How is everything else going?"

"We've already begun reconstruction and tending to the wounded," The King says, "Our borders are secure, for now at least,"

As the two began to talk, Keith coming in to discuss defensive tactics, Lance felt Tellru tap his shoulder.

"A moment though, Lance. Alone?"

Not sure what she would need he nodded, Keith's hand slipping from his own. Giving Keith a little nod, he follows Tellru to the other side of the room, "What's up, Tellru?"

"The sky."

"...We've discussed this."

"Jk."

Realizing she was joking and had come so far since they first met, Lance let out a little proud cheer, "Look at you catching onto Earth slang so easily."

"Why thank you," chuckling, she reaches into her bag and pulls out the item she had bought at the store earlier when they were waiting to get on the Kever. He had been curious to what it was but wasn't expecting Tellru to give it to him.

A jar of some sort, not too big in size, was placed into his hand. It didn't feel like anything solid was in it- maybe more of liquid. Like honey? "What is this?

"A gift."

"I can't really see what it is." he admits. "So uh-"

"It is for you and your beloved one."

Lance wasn't sure he was ready for whatever this was, "...Okay?"

"Make things easier…." she is grinning

Lance's tongue felt thick, "...Is this Lube?"

"It should help the mating process be less painful-"

"Holy shit, it's lube." he almost dropped it. He should have known she would do something like this at the end- she was Tellru after all! "Tellru, you little perv- what the hell?!" he cut the volume of his voice half, afraid the others would hear, "You don't just give someone stuff like this."

"On our planet we do." she says cheekily. "Lance, do not even deny you haven't considered the need for more of. They only have so much in those small apartments."

"I- he- Tellru." he growled.

She chuckled- it was warm and he realized he was glad he got to meet her, "I am glad I met you Lance. You have really taught me some valuable lessons since you have arrived."

Feeling this conversation was suppose to be heartfelt but struggling to take it as such with lube within his hands, he nods weakly, 'Yeah?"

"Yes," she nods, "Both Keith and you have changed my life- Ruru is a completely different child now no less. Thank you so much, Lance,"

Touched, Lance nods sheepishly. "I should thank you too… Keith and I probably- we wouldn't have survived without you. We wouldn't have had a chance to be together,"

"I have never seen a pair more beautiful than you two," she grins "Treasure him, Lance- because he will do the same with you."

Blinking a few times, Lance slide the jar into his jacket, keeping it out of sight, "...Thanks." he mumbled, face on fire. "Thank you for everything, Tellru

"Of course~"

Moving back to join the others, they spent the rest of their helping with clean up and lending a hand moving around supplies. It wasn't much, but it was the least they could do after everything that could happen.

Plus, with their message being sent, it shouldn't be that long till the team showed up. Manson said he couldn't confirm they would show up that day, but perhaps in a few, depending on how fast the message would take to reach them.

Hopefully they would get it soon.

With nothing much to do after that, and taking long enough just to get home through the Kevers, they found themselves stumbling into their apartment by sun fall. "I'm tired," Lance yawns.

"Yeah…" Keith uses his crutch to move over to the closet and grabs a little bit of clothes, "I have to go to the bathroom," he tells Lance before moving into the Bathroom. Waving him goodbye, Lance plops down onto the bed, lying there for a little bit. Figuring he should change into his pajamas too, he stopped when Keith stepped out of the bathroom.

He looked nervous, and Lance figured it was because of what he was wearing.

It wasn't anything revealing or anything, but it definitely had a charming appeal to it that Lance hadn't seen before.

He calls for Lance's name as he enters the room, brushing his hair behind his ear a little.

Lance opens his arms for an embrace and Keith steps into them without a word.

Pressing his face into the raven hair, he sighs, the tight coil of his chest loosening. "Hey." he greets.

"Hey,"

Leaving the silence fall there, they stand in each other's arm for a long time. Perhaps minutes- or even an hour- either way it wasn't enough. It never felt like enough.

"The team is coming for us,"

"Hopefully they get the message," Keith mumbles into his shirt.

"I'm sure they will…. What do we say when we see them? How do we explain all of this?" he laughs.

"I dunno," Keith shrugs, "A lot of stuff has happened lately."

At some point, Lance had to ask, "What are you wearing?"

"Hmm?"

"I've never seen this shirt before." Lance tugs on his curiously. It was beautiful, to say the least, and followed the curve of Keith's body wonderfully.

"Oh," Keith pulls back enough for Lance to get a look at him. There is a tint to his cheeks and he is struggling to keep a smile when he says, "You said you uh- wanted to see this. So I kept it."

Feeling the fabric below his fingertips, Lance had to close his eyes to recall it- it couldn't be. The super soft silky shirt they gave to him as a Pure when they first arrived!

"You kept it?" he asks in awe. Holy hell did it look good on him. Keith's pitiful description all those weeks ago did not give this masterpiece justice.

A little big and wavy, it fitted neatly on Keith's shoulder, drifting down enough to show off his collar bone. The neck line was low, delving towards his chest- a little too little revealing without the undergear below, showing creamy skin. Lance was glad he was the only one seeing this.

It was short sleeved, long enough to trail a little below his waist, covering a lot of Keith's shorts. He wasn't even wearing socks for Christ's sake.

Lance covered his mouth, letting out a noise of distress. This sight should be illegal. "You can't ever wear this in front of the others… In front of anyone." he pleads, "My god Keith,"

"Is it bad?"

'You felon- You shot me right through my heart." he pats his chest. Keith gives him a little look, shaking his head. Placing his hands to Keith's hips he lifts them towards the bed, pulling him against his chest, "Thank you for keeping it," he grins

Keith nods sheepishly, "Yeah…" Placing his head to Lance's chest, he listens to his heartbeat. Soothed by the sound, he is almost lulled to sleep before he can feel Lance lifting his hand upward.

A pitiful sigh rumbled from Lance's chest, "It's fading…" he ran a hand up his neck. Keith looked up at him curiously.

"What is?" With the way Lance curled his finger around a section of his throat, Keith realized that the love bite from earlier had begun healing over after a while. Not nearly as much, of course, but it definitely wouldn't be long till it was gone. Keith hadn't tried to bite deep either since he wasn't sure how Lance would react to it.

Sucking in sharply, his heart kicking into over drive, Keith leaned towards his equivalent. Pressing his lips into the warm skin below, he gives it a long lick, offering, "I can give you another,"

Lance makes a startled noise, biting his lower lip, "Holy Hell Keith," he is nodding violently.

Keith's smiles, pressing his face into the soft spot along Lance's shoulders, "You smell salty," he says. "Like the ocean." He leans closer and licks up the side of Lance's neck. "You taste salty too. Right here…" he opens his mouth and bites down on the spot, enticing a startled gasp from the blue paladin below him.

Sucking on the spot, Keith pulled away to examine the mark he had left. Lance panted, lifting his hand cautiously to touch the mark.

Sliding his fingers against it, he cheeks darkened and he shivered, "That's better…"

Keith eyed him curiously, his eyes fluttering over Lance's slender legs, strong thighs, then rested between his legs where a charming bulge waited eagerly for Keith's attention. Lance swallows, knowing Keith was thinking things that would leave him screaming Keith's name.

"Lance," His tongue snuck between his lips and lightly darted to moisten them. "We should stop,"

Lance's eyes go wide, "W-Why?" he inquired weakly.

"We're uh…" Keith clears his throat, "Out,"

"Out?"

"Of lube. It would hurt," he tells Lance, caressing his cheek. "I don't want that,"

Blinking at him, Lance's eyes swelled with affection. He giggles a little, turning his head to kiss Keith's palm.

"I got that covered," he assures him.

Puzzled, Keith sits up a little to watch Lance reach over to the bedside table, pulling a jar up to the bed.

"What's that?" Keith motions to the jar. Lance fumbled with the lid nervously

"Um… a gift. From Tellru."

"What is it?"

Opening it, Lance clears his throat. "It's um… lube," he says straight out. Keith's face contorts to confusion, then discuss, then to humiliation

"Why would she give you that- no, it's Tellru, of course she would give you that. Why would you accept it!"

"We were running out of lube!" Lance huffs, "Look at this jar- it's huge! This will last us months if we do it daily!"

Keith's face shoots to crimson red at Lance blatant statement that he did, in fact, plan to do this daily.

"You're unbelievable," He holds Lance's face in his hands and kisses him deeply. He slowly unzips Lance's hoodie and touches a hand to his bare chest, relishing the feel of it.

Barely an hour ago Keith was admiring it from afar, feeling almost addicted to Lance's form especially now that it was no longer just a tease and it was something he could finally have.

When Keith slides his hand down to Lance stomach, he groans and his hands slip just under Keith's shirt.

"It's almost a good thing I haven't changed yet," Lance can feel his smile against his lips, "Just gives me a bigger excuse for you take of my clothes for me,"

"With pleasure," Keith grips the bottom of Lance's shirt to pull it over his head. Instead of returning to kissing Lance, Keith's eyes roam down his body. Feeling exposed by his intense gaze, Lance shifts timidly, lifting his arm to cover himself.

Keith's hands lightly touch each of Lance's side, gripping them. With a small tug, he ushers Lance's torso closer, pressing his lips to the center of the blue paladin's chest and kissing along it.

Lance's breath catches in my throat.

Meeting his eyes, Keith says, "You're so beautiful." He leans forward, pressing a soft kiss along Lance's naval. Lance shivers at the light touch of his lips to his sensitive skin.

Watching him come undone was the greatest gift to Keith, but he couldn't help but want something… more. Or perhaps the better term was something new?

And he already had something in his mind to what this _new_ thing was.

"Hey…" Keith pauses.

"Hmm?" Lance lifted his head to look at him, "What's up?"

"I um… I want to try-" he blushed then cuts off, "The other way."

"Other way?" Lance blinked rapidly, not quite following.

Keith sits back a little, looking down at Lance with blow out pupils. "You," he says tenderly, "I want our positions to switch,"

Lance sits up a little to wrap his arms around Keith's torso, curious, "Switch positions? Do you mean-" he cuts off, gasping in shock. "Y-You do?" he asked in awe. "Me be on top?"

With how surprised he is, Keith feels off put, "Do you not want to?"

"No no! It's just- I never thought you wanted to," Lance admits, "I didn't want to do anything you weren't comfortable with. Do you really want me on top? Do you want me… in you?"

Keith nodded, "Yes… yes, Lance. I want you."

"But- you're ankle," Lance looked down at it, not wanting to strain it in anyway.

"It was fine the last time we had sex,' Keith tells him, "I want to try this."

Lance nods numbly, taking his time to flip them over. Making sure Keith was comfortable, Lance trailed his hands lovingly up and down his body, adoring each curve of muscle, each rough patch of scarred skin.

"Mi amor," he chants at him, kissing his collarbone. Keith's hums in pleasure, caressing the back of Lance's head.

Trailing his fingers over the band of Keith's shorts, Lance looked up at him, searching Keith's eyes for any sign of hesitation. When he saw none, just a dark desire, he slipped his fingers below the waistline and pulled down, taking Keith's shorts to his knees. Lance found himself staring.

"...So you're a brief fella." he says slyly.

"Lance." Keith grumbles, cover his red face with his arm, "You are seriously focusing on that, _now,_ after all this time?"

"Can't help it," he grinned.

"Can you just-"

"I know, I know." Lance insists, breath ghosting along Keith's thighs. "Just let me handle everything,"

Keith gladly agreed.

* * *

 **Go to the NSFW chapter of this story to see this scene**

* * *

When the Keith collapsed, Lance turned to look at Keith, "Hey," he leans down, gently lifting Keith enough to look at him, "Are you okay?"

Keith inhales and exhales, still caught in the haze, "S-So that's how it works…" he mumbles, shifting to nuzzle into Lance, "It was good,"

"It was?" Lance seems so happy, so relieved, to hear that.

Keith nods, "We have to do that again,"

Lance can already see Keith's mind moving into gear, and knew it would take him long to ask for a round too. He would never have thought that Keith's sex drive would be so crazy.

It was both enticing and kind of terrifying if Lance had to be honest, simply because he did not share Keith's sex drive and would most likely wake up every morning sore... But he loved it regardless.

He loved Keith.

Moving to lay next to his Equivalent, Lance brought him close, holding him close

* * *

000—00

"Morning, sweetheart," Lance kisses his forehead when he opens his eyes the next morning. Humming a bit, Keith rolls over and then whines.

"Ow…" he reaches towards his back.

"Oh, sorry," Lance realizes where he must have been sore and felt guilty "I forgot to warn you,"

"It's fine." Keith sits up, "It was worth it," Sharing a smile, they lean towards each other to share a sweet kiss.

Lance was in bliss. The whole day kind of felt like he was floating on air. Breakfast, a little walk through the Kingdom- he can't even remember when they had walked up to the castle. Keith was just too attention consuming.

And it. Was. Great.

Tellru and Dravla enjoyed their relationship just as much, smiling like proud parents at the two when they came to join their walk. He knew if Ruru was there, she probably would have been calling them cootie monsters.

With a giddy smile, hand in hand with Keith, the two entered the Kingdom to check on the progress of the message. Lance oddly found that he almost didn't care if the team found him- which was kind of horrible. As long as he had Keith, and could live every day like this with him- he was happy.

Of course, that was selfish of him, but he couldn't help but think it. He couldn't help but want to ignore the Zarkon threat and grow old together with Keith.

It was natural to think that way, right?

Honstly, he was actually kind of said. He felt like something was coming to an end, and the two of them were about to walk into something unknown. They had gotten used to this planet, and kind of knew what to expect here. When they got to the team, they would never know what to expect. They didn't know how the team would react, or what evil plans Zarkon might device...

It was kind of scary.

"Hey, Manson!" Lance waves to him when he entered the royal halls, faking a smile "Just coming to check on that broadcast? Got any replies or what not?"

"No, afraid not," Manson says, "But it has been quite some time since we've last activated it, so the system is a little old. It may take a few days to spread the signal out at far as where ever your friends are,"

Lance clicks his teeth, kind of disappointed, but also kind of happy to hear that "I see. Well, that is okay, just thought we would check," he grins. Letting Manson go back to his work, Keith and him joined Tellru and Dravla again.

"Guess we are here for another day," Lance tells them.

"Guess we should find something to do," There is a long pause before Dravla suddenly sniffles, I'm just so happy for both of you," he says dramatically, "Now we can talk about Equivalent things," he claps,

"Equivalent things?" Lance asks him

"You know- Equivalent things," Dravla says

"…" Lance shakes his head, "That doesn't explain anything by just saying it a second time,"

"Talk about gift ideas, talk about matching clothes…. Gossip about certain nightly activities," Tellru grins

Lance and Keith quickly step back, gawking at the two. "Oh you pervs," Lance accuses, pointing at them.

They cackle, stepping closer.

When Tellru smirks, Lance quickly says, "I have to go to the bathroom," to get out of the situation. Keith gawked at him, realizing his plan, but too late to stop it before Lance is making a break for the restrooms down the hall, leaving Keith to the mercy of Tellru and Dravla's mind.

"You traitor!"

Knowing he would pay for it later, Lance slipped into the bathroom with a chuckle. Deciding to waste some time to avoid as much as he could, he padded over to the sink and looked himself in the mirror.

He checked his teeth, flattened his hair, and took the time to wash his hands

Scrubbing them clean, he looked up to stare at himself in the mirror again

He had seen his own face a billion times, but today was different. He wasn't just looking at Lance McClain now.

He was looking at Lance McClain, Equivalent of Keith Kogane, now. Something about that thought made him seem brighter- made him grin at himself in a goofy manner and want to bury his face in his sleeves, possibly squealing.

He loved Keith.

But even with that love, he definitely wasn't going to go back to him and Tellru anytime soon. So he busied himself by going through the bathroom cabinet, finding it funny how Coeihns had one of those mirrors that opened into a medicine cabinet.

There was just so many similarities between here and Earth.

Curiously looking at a few bottles, not understanding a word on the labels, he put them back, going through what he could.

Not even sure what any of them did, he reached up to grab the mirror door, faintly hearing the sound of creaking.

Lance stepped into a horror movie when he closed the mirror cabinet, revealing the area of the bathroom behind him.

His breath caught in his throat when a hand wrapped around his mouth and dark eyes met him in the reflection of the mirror.

" _Hello, Lance._ "

* * *

 _ **Welp...**_

 _ **I couldn't end this story without one more problem.**_

 _ **Cause...**_

 _ **Keith wasn't ever sure if he killed a certain Coeihn...**_

 _ **But hey, there are only two more chapters before this story comes to an end. 30 chapters total**_

 _ **And then there might just be a sequel :D :D :D**_

* * *

 **Thecolorfulmonster:** Oh my gosh thank you so much for your lovely review. It makes me so happy to hear you say that! I do get excellent reviews from people like you and it just makes writing this story so enjoyable!

 **Azun26:** I almost couldn't breath myself when I wrote that Keith's heart stopped! It was so hard to write! ;-; But I'm so glad everyone enjoyed the story and were happy to find that he lived!

 **DeityOfDeath:** That is so long ;-; Thank you for spending all that time to read this!

 **Guest:** Horrible things are next ;-;

 **Guest:** I'm so sorry but also not sorry I gave you a heart attack! But thank you so much for loving this story

 **Guest:** Not always bottom Lance *wink wink* hehehe XD

 **Ewink18:** They are finally Equivalents. It just took 27 chapters, but they FINALLY DID IT! XD Oh my gosh. Thank you so much my friend.

 **AirenLag:** I'm both sorry but happy that I scaed you XD I alway aim for those reactions and it makes me so happy to hear that you had them :D There are a few more chapters. There will be 30 chapters total. And then- A sequeal~

 **AngiMK:** Tis not over, no~

 **Adiranna Agray:** Thank you so much! You might actually be surprised on how the team reacts though 0.0

 **Pinkdoughnuts:** I could never kill Keith or Lance. I just- I couldn't XD But thank you so much! That means so much to me and I am honored to hear that ;-;


	29. It's over

" Hello, Lance,"

If Lance had experienced fear before, it paled in comparison to the feeling coursing through his veins.

Arms were moving around his frame; a hand held so tightly to his mouth that not even a scream could be heard past his own ears. In a split second reaction, going completely off his instincts, he made a grab for the vase that was seated neatly next to the sink for decoration.

He shattered it into the face of the person behind him. When he turned, he was horrified to realize it was Rashra.

This cockroach of a Coeihn was still around?! Lance couldn't even understand how he managed to get into the Kingdom, but with everything that had happened, he should have understood that being a Coeihn himself, or least half of one, it wouldn't have been that hard to sneak in.

Making a break for his Bayard, Rashra beat him to the punch, snagging Lance's arm and throwing him back. Sliding against the porcelain floor, Lance tried to get to his feet but was dragged back when Rashra grabbed his foot.

He yelled, cut off quickly when Rashra covered his mouth. He punched and kicked, fighting with everything he had.

Rashra was physically stronger, making it easy to grip Lance's arms with one hand and pin them behind his back. Pushed towards the side of the room, he lifted his feet and pressed his heels to the wall to stop himself from being forced against it.

He tried to bite Rashra's hand which was almost impossible with how tight his grip was around his chin.

"Squirmy little thing, aren't you?" Rashra snickered into his ear.

"Let go!" Lance's scream was muffled, so he kicked, purposively making sure to hit anything he could to make noise.

For a moment, Rashra's hand left his mouth, slipping under Lance's shirt instead.

He wailed, "No! No!"

A chuckle brushes his ear, cruel and making his blood turn icey. Rashra's finger is slipping upward, circling a nipple.

Lance curved his spine, throwing his head back as hard as he could, slamming the back of his skull into Rashra's nose. It almost made him see stars, but it was sufficient enough to make Rashra lose his balance.

They both slide, crashing to the floor in a heavy heap.

Rashra bodily pinned him down, mostly by accident, and then there was knock on the door. The door handle turned, but Rashra seems to have locked it before entering.

("Blue champions?") It ones of the guards. Lance screams before Rashra reacts fast enough. There is a frantic turn of the handle this time, the knocking becoming thick bangs. The guard is yelling on the other side, probably trying to figure out what is going on. This was followed by the guard calling down the hall, then the frantic pounding of feet.

"Shut your mouth," Rashra growls.

"Get off of me!" Lance snags Rashra around his horn, tugging them to the side. Rashra grunts. Taking Lance's wrists, he pushes them up to pin them above his head. Lance fights when Rashra tries to press his knee between his legs, kicking them against the Coeihn's stomach. Whenever Rashra sought to bring his wrists together, to hold them within one of his palms, Lance wiggled his arms to make it difficult, slipping from Rashra's grip if he loosened it even slightly.

"Lance?!" Keith must have been called over and was banging on the door. Rashra turns his head at the sound, growling.

Lance calls for him, tears prickling his eyes.

"Lance, what is happening?! Lance?"

There is a massive slam, and Lance realizes Keith is trying to break down the door.

Knowing it wouldn't be long till he did so, Rashra lifted Lance and pulled him against his chest. Turned to face the entry way, Rashra raised a blade to his throat just as Keith kicked the door down from its hinges.  
Running in, he stops cold, his eyes widening in horror.

A few others Coeihns ran in after him, their swords drawn, tensing at the sight before them.

"Rashra!" Tellru peeked over Keith, the blood draining from her face.

Keith lifted his hand towards his Bayard and stepped forward.

"Ah ah," Rashra scolds, pressing the blade a little closer into Lance's skin. Cut lightly, blood drizzled down the skin of his throat, pooling at his collar bone.

Lance struggles to breathe, trembling in the hands of this psychopath.

"You wouldn't want him getting hurt, would you?" Rashra sneered viciously tightening his grip enough for Lance to feel like his rib cage might crack in half. "If you don't want his pretty little head torn from his body, back up," Rashra commands. Keith visibly bristled, slowly forcing himself to inch back.

"I will kill you," he swears.

"Out of the room," Rashra smirks. The group slowly, unwillingly steps from the room, Keith standing helplessly at the door, his hands gripping his Bayard so hard Lance thought they might break. "Good,"

"What is your plan here, Rashra?!" Dravla demands, "You have nowhere to go! You can't win this,"

"I don't need to win- you and your stupid family made sure of that," Rashra narrowed his eyes, crazed and dangerous. He lifts Lance's chin enough, sliding his tongue along the side of his face. Lance turns away, inhaling sharply. It felt disgusting… wrong in every way imaginable- like a snail has just slivered up his cheek.

"Rashra!" Keith almost ran forward, held back by Dravla.

"W-Why are you doing this?" Lance whispers, holding back a sob.

"Because you took away my victory," Rashra growls. "So I'm going to take away whatever I can from you. Whether that be your life or otherwise."

Keith roars from the doorway, his gaze ballistic, morphing into something deadly, "You try anything, and I'm going to rip you apart!"

Rashra smirked smugly, finding a challenge in that threat.

"How exactly will you do that?" he muses, pressing his nose to Lance's neck, mockingly teasing Keith by inhaling Lance's sweet scent. Lance bit back a whimper, digging his teeth into his bottom lip enough to make it bleed.

"Don't touch him!" Keith demanded roughly

"Or what? You can't exactly hurt me without harming your precious Equivalent," His gaze turns to Lance, "And it seems you two made it official. What a great couple. Too bad that Keith over there had to be saddled with someone as defenseless as you,"

"You shut your mouth!" the red paladin snaps, almost lifted off his feet by a few Coeihns to prevent him from heedlessly running into the Bathroom.

Flinching when Rashra inched closer, Lance held his breath, some putrid smell emanating from the scum's mouth. "How about you brush your teeth?" Lance grunts at him.

"How about I cut out your tongue?"

"Can it be my nose instead?" Lance hisses weakly, "That sounds better than having to smell whatever deceased thing you are,"

"Lance. Lance, please, don't antagonize the lunatic with a sword," Dravla pleads softly.

Lance felt afraid, of course, he did- but something felt okay about the fear all the same. Keith was there, he could see him, and that fire in his eyes gave Lance some sort of courage to get through this.

"You should listen to your friend, Lance. Who knows what this lunatic, might do," Right as he finished, Lance felt slimy fingers curling along his belt buckle. He almost bucked his hips to try and shove the appalling hand away but held still when the blade pressed closer to his neck.

With death looming only a few centimeters away, his eyes could only watch as Rashra slid off his belt and circled the zipper of his pants.

"After all, I'm still pissed off when Keith stabbed me in the back. I have to have some way to get back at him," he snarled. When Rashra's finger flick against the button of his pants, popping it open, Lance starts to panic.

"Stop it!" he yells, curling into himself to attempt to hide his body as much as possible

"You son of a bitch!" Keith's roar of rage could make even the most solemn soldier flinch.

In the haze of his mind, clouded by fear and the urge to throw up, Lance thought of several things at once. The insults Tellru and Dravla were cursing out, Rashra's voice against his ear, Keith's desperate gaze against his- and confusion.

A struggle to understand how anyone could be like this- could be like Rashra. There was a large list of things Rashra had done… how could he have even done a single one?

"Haven't you done enough?" he cries, startling them all, "Dravla- your own people- Kac'ela-! Don't you have any compassion at all?"

"No, I suppose I don't," Rashra smirked wickedly. He didn't even hesitate. How sick was this man? Lance didn't know- he didn't want to know. He just wanted this all to be over.

"Lance,"

There is a sudden pause before someone steps forward. Turning to her the moment she got closer, Rashra held the blade steady to Lance's throat. Tellru doesn't even blink; her eyes are distant.

"...What do you mean, Lance?"

"W-What?" he stammers.

"Just now, you said Kac'ela's name," she tells him. "What did you mean by that?"

Lance goes pales, his heart dropping to his stomach with dread. That's right… Tellru had been close with Manson's Equivalent Kac'ela. If he recalled correctly, Dravla had even mentioned them to be as close as siblings. He could hardly bring himself to tell Manson- how could he possibly tell Tellru? "I…" he looks away, his mouth dry and voice raspy. He couldn't bare to tell her something so horrible. Rashra did it for him, cackling.

"How strange- here I would have thought you would have gossiped to the entire Kingdom by now. Or at least would have told them," he snorts. Tellru's eyes lock on him like a homing beacon, his jaw set and her gaze steely.

"Tell us what?" she challenges.

"How do I say this?" he fakes sympathy, tilting his head, "It was such a tragedy when Kac'ela died- truly a horrible day for the Kingdom."

Dravla glances nervously to Tellru before saying, "It was,"

"I wonder who let those Traveks get so deep into the Kingdom in the first place?" Rashra inquired innocently.

"Take this seriously!" Lance snaps at him, seeing the realization come over Tellru's eyes, "If you are going to do this than admit to properly!"

Rashra narrows his eyes down to Lance, the blade slicing delicately along his cheek, causing the area to bleed. Lance flinches, his body freezing up. He hears a choking sound from Keith, who looks ready to jump out of his skin to get to them.

"You did everything," Lance says harshly, knowing Tellru at least deserved the full truth. "Kac'ela, and even Dravla! You let those Traveks in to kill Kac'ela and have been trying to kill Dravla for years now. You even tried to kill me,"

"It was you…?" Dravla lowers his sword in utter shock. He quickly raises it with a newfound animosity. "It was you," his voice seems to drop two octaves.

Rashra looks ready to take a bow, "Guilty as charged,"

It was another guard turn now to hold Tellru and Dravla back, barely managing to hang on and stopping them from simply lunging at the traitor.

"Kac'ela was kind- he did everything for his people and you- you took him away from us!" Tellru sobbed, lurching forward to try and break free from the guard's grasp. Tellru looked up to yell more, to spit curses at Rashra' disgusting face, but she cut off. Something shined in her eyes, and all her movements stopped.

Lance found the sudden calm in her eyes surprising, and noticed every other member of the guard, even Keith, seemed to look relaxed suddenly. Not sure what it could mean, Lance hears a voice speak up from behind him.

"So it was you, was it?"

A voice so cold, it made Rashra's entire body freeze with fear, breathed against their ears

Out of nowhere, Rashra's arms were forcibly tugged away from the blue paladin's form. Turning sharply, both of them were surprised to realize the King of the Coeihns was responsible.

Manson, with a look that Lance would never be able to forget, had some how managed to get into the room, took Rashra's arms, and pulled them from Lance by force. He took care to hold Rashra's arm, the one hold the sword, far to the side.

"Go, Lance," Manson eyes seemed almost dead to the world, his words dripping with so much venom that Lance visibly shook. As he shakily crawled forward to get away, he spotted some sort of second door that Manson must have entered from. It was behind Rashra, so there was no way for him to see it.

But, that didn't make sense in Lance's mind. He was positive there was only one door when he walked in here.

He would learn later that this mystery door was a secret passageway that leads to a series of tunnels below the Kingdom. Every room had this, in case the castle needed to be evacuated.

Without much else to think of after that, Lance scrambles forward, tripping into Keith's awaiting arms. Keith doesn't hesistate to pull him from the confrontation, murming sweet and soothing words into Lance's hair, hoping to quell his trembling form.

Lance happily pushed his head into Keith's chest, hoping to drown out the sound of rushing feet and the Coeihns lunging for Rashra.

They didn't kill him, despite Tellru and Dravla looking ready to mawl his limbs off his body. Manson commanded he be taken to the dungeon, where his crimes would be decided from there. No one could go against him, and he was hauled off, away from them for good.

At least Lance hoped it was for good.

"Lance," Tellru rushed to their side, "Are you okay?" she examined the cut along his chin. "I- I'm so sorry. I don't know how he managed to get into the castle-"

"It doesn't seem too strange. No everyone is aware of his betrayal, so it would have been easy for him to sneak in without notice," Dravla sighs, his jaw tight with rage. "We should have been more cautious since we didn't confirm he was dead or not,"

Lance didn't want them to blame themselves for what happened and shakes his head, "I should have been paying better attention to my surroundings," he tells them. He was so caught up in the notion of love and Equivalency, he was completely oblivious to the fact that Rashra had snuck into the Bathroom. It should have been easy for Lance to hear the creaking noise, but he was just too distracted.

"The only one at fault here is Rashra," Keith concluded, reaching down to take Lance's hand. His voice grew softer when he says, "Let's get you home," Lance follows, pressing close to Keith's side and nuzzling into his shoulder,

"Do you not wish to stay to see what Rashra's punishment shall be?" Dravla questions them.

"Lance has been through enough today," Keith concludes, "He should go home and rest."

Slowly peeking up at him, Lance can see something hidden away behind Keith's eyes. Something he wasn't saying out loud...

Like he didn't want Lance to be around Rashra anymore than he had to.

"Yeah," Lance agreed, deciding it would be best just to go home. He could talk to Keith then, after all. Tellru and Dravla understood, waiving them off.

Not even remembering walking back to the Kever, Keith shoved his way through the crowd to get Lance a seat. Kneeling in front of him, uncaring to who watched, Keith lifted a hand to Lance's arms. "You're shaking," he notes.

Lance stares down at himself dully, "Am I?"

Keith nods and takes off his jacket. Reaching up, he drapped it over Lance's shoulders, keeping eye contact with him the entire ride back. Lance felt numb, if he had to be honest. He had been assulted, and that he petrified him, but the worse part was seeing the looks on Tellru and Dravla's face they realized the full extent of what Rashra had done. He couldn't erase it from his mind; the pure horror of it. How were you suppose to look a murdereer in the eye anyway?

Letting Keith tug him to his feet when they arrived, he followed him like a lost puppy to the apartment. Keith was quick to have them kick off their shoes, guiding Lance through the bed.

He settled Lance on the edge of their shared bed and just… stood there.

He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do right now. Hug, kiss, talk, smother with affection…? What was the correct response? What if Lance didn't want any of that right now? Keith wasn't used to having to comfort people during things like that. He was just so angry! He wanted to stay with Lance but he also wanted to storm back to the castle and cut Rashra's head off!

"Lance, are you- do you need- can I do anything?" Keith pants. Lance doesn't say anything for a long time- similar to the entire ride back up here.

He shakes his head.

Keith drops to his knees in front of him, looking up to meet his eyes. He wanted to do something to help- to get Lance's mind off of it. It wasn't good to just ignore something this big either though so…

"Keith," Lance's fingers slowly come forward, cupping his face, "I'm okay. You don't need to stress yourself over this,"

Startled, Keith doesn't hesitate to pull Lance into his arms. He had been terrified. Lance was the one that should have been terrified, and he should be the one that was being comforted, but Keith felt like his world was shattering the entire time he was in Rashra's grasp.

"I thought something-" Keith inhales sharply, running his hands up and down Lance's arms to just assure himself that he was here and that he was okay. "I couldn't save you. I couldn't get to you. I'm so sorry, Lance," he chokes.

Tears build in the blue paladin's eyes and he shakes his head, "No, Keith I-" his voice cracks, "Just the fact that I could see your face made everything okay, you know? If I was in there alone I-" He pulls Keith back against him, sobbing into his shoulder. Keith leans against the bed to cradle him, hushing him with a gentle voice.

It made Lance honestly believe that perhaps now they could finally be at ease with this- at least on this planet anyway. Zarkon was always out there, but here, right now, he could just cherish Keith. He did have to worry about interruptions or threats.

"I-" Keith swallows thickly, the vow coming out with a solemn voice, "I'll keep you safe, Lance,"

"I know you will," Lance whispers, "I'll keep you safe too,"

They talked, whispering into each other's ears of their hopes for when the team showed up. Lance confided that he loved this planet and that he was afraid of what would happen when they got back to the team.

Keith didn't fully understand, and neither did Lance- he just didn't want things to change.

"They won't," Keith tells him

Lance nods, but doesn't seem to believe him entirely. Assuring him with a gentle kiss, Keith they discussed other things- like what Ruru would do if they left. Who would Dravla and Tellru have to nanny her? They might just have to go back to having multiple different ones if Ruru wasn't accepting of them.

They laughed, cried a little more, then stared at each other. It was quiet, more intimate than anything Keith could fathom.

"Lance," He brushed his thumbs to Lance's cheeks, running them over the scar on his eyes. He treasured these scars.

As horrible as it was, is what lead them here. If it wasn't for the scar, Keith wasn't sure if they would be where they are now.

He loved it, even if Lance thought himself ugly from it. To Keith, it made Lance all the more beautiful.

When Keith didn't say anything else, Lance raises his eye brow, "What?" Leaning up to kiss the scar, Lance bats him away timidly, blushing. "What?" he repeats the question.

"Nothing. I love you," Keith tells him

"I love you, too,"

Sprawling themselves over the bed, content enough to just lay there in each other's arms, Keith watched the sun slowly lower till it eventually set and he realized Lance had fallen asleep from exhaustion. He couldn't do the same.

Lifting the blankets up to cover them, making sure Lance didn't get cold, his thoughts were tortured with the events at the castle.

He couldn't just let something like that go. Rashra was still there. They didn't kill him, just took him away to decide a punishment for later.

Rashra had gone too far. He threatened his friends, him, and now Lance. He had to pay.

Keith sat up when the clock struck three in the morning. He slowly looked over at Lance, who was curled in a bundle within the blankets, one arm tossed over Keith's waist. Leaning down to kiss his forehead, loving how soft Lance's skin was, he slipped out from below his arm.

Knowing Lance wouldn't approve of this other wise, Keith quietly got dressed and made for the door, planning to return before Lance ever awoke.

He didn't want to do anything to Rashra at the time with Lance there in the castle- but he couldn't just let this matter slide.

He was going to see that piece of scum and finish this.

With that thought, he jumped on the first Kever he could and made his way to the castle. It wasn't too hard to get in from there and make his way down to the dungeon. Illuminated with candles, he was surprised to find only one guard stationed down there.

When he went to question them, a presence appeared behind him.

"I figured I would find you down here," a voice catches him by surprise. Turning, he finds Tellru leaning against the dungeon walls, her gaze cold and set.

"Same could be said about you," Keith tells her. "I'm just surprised that you are down here and Rashra is still alive."

"It isn't easy," she assures him. "But I'm not the only one he's hurt. I want us all to get in whatever we need to before we end this."

"Then we're doing this?" the sound of steps could be heard before Dravla arrived, Manson at his heels.

"Dravla…?" Keith asks.

"I got my own bone to pick with that guy," he says, "Not to mention…" he didn't feel like he even had to explain why Manson was here.

"Treason alone is enough for execution," Manson says with a chilled voice, "But Rashra made this personal."

Taking each other their faces, the group seemed to come to a quiet agreement before they moved down the hall as one. Moving past the single guard, which Keith assumed was placed there by Manson's request to make this discreet, the entered his cage. He had been chain to the wall, his face bruised and beaten already just to get him down here.

Lifting his head to watch them enter, his snorts, "Well if it isn't the mighty King and his happy band of followers. Here to give me my punishment?"

"I would always give a criminal a trial under normal circumstances," The King says, "But you've already admitted to your crimes- so I see no reason for one. Your punishment shall be death, Rashra,"

The smirk in his eyes pissed Keith off. "Death? Is that all?" he snickers. "So tell me, how will you do it, your highness?"

Manson didn't answer for a long time but looked back to Tellru and Dravla. They nodded to him, and he turned to Keith, "You can be the one to do it, Keith," Manson tells him. Keith turns so suddenly, caught off guard.

"What?" he gawks at him. "But he is the one who- to your Equivalent… "

"And he almost did the same to you, and then some," Manson says. "To me, it does not matter how Rashra pays for his crimes, merely that the deed is done. Though I would gladly end him with my own hands, I owe you and Lance the lives of my entire Kingdom and my son,"

"We all do," Tellru agrees, "Which is why you can do it… but only if you want to,"

Back at the apartment, that was all Keith wanted- he wanted to end Rashra's life and get rid of him for good. Without much though his feet were moving on his own, approaching Rashra.

Without a word, Keith lifted his bayard as he walked towards the scum before him. With a swift strike, he could pierce Rashra in the heart. Was that too easy? Was that just the right amount in this case?

What would Lance do?

Lance had the chance to kill Rashra before but stilled his hand. Of course at the time he didn't know all the things Rashra had done, but would that have changed anything? Lance at his core was a kind person who wouldn't try to kill if he could avoid it. Even know he was aware that Lance tortured himself over the lives he naturally took when they fought against Zarkon.

If he was here and given a chance, would he kill Rashra? Keith wasn't sure. He wasn't even sure what he was feeling himself right now. He was so confident about coming here and ending his life, but now that he was, he didn't know what to do.

It didn't feel right. At least, not by his hands.

If Lance knew what he was about to do, would have thought poorly of Keith? Would he think less of him? He was aware that Lance wouldn't kill Rashra, that wasn't even a question. Lance was too kind to take his life. Maybe rough him up, but never kill.

Keith wanted to be someone Lance could be proud of, and he worried that if he did this, he wouldn't be able to look him in the eye anymore.

Lowering his blade, he sighed, "I can't," he looks away

"What is wrong?" Tellru inquired

"I've already stained my hands since coming to this planet," Keith opens and closes his palm, his eyes distant, recalling when he had killed that Coeihn before when Lance had been taken, "With Lance there, no less. I can't go back to him, look him in the eye, and tell him I let my anger lead me to kill someone again. Even if he deserves it, and even if I want to, I can't."

Tellru's voice is soft when she says his name, reaching out to pat his shoulder.

"Coward," Rashra choked between the silence, "Letting me go so freely," he smirks, mocking Keith.

"I didn't say that," Keith's tone is dark. "I won't kill you, Rashra. That doesn't mean I don't have something else in mind. Tellru, Dravla and the King can do whatever they want to you. You hurt them the most… but I'm not leaving till I'm satisfied."

Curious, Tellru's hand slips from his should and watches him move around Rashra, switching his bayard to his left hand.

"There is a saying in my world," he tells the others as a matter of factly, " An eye for an eye, is how it goes. Lance was injured on endless counts since coming here- but the largest one that haunted him was the injury to his eyes." he gripes the back of Rashra's skull, pulling it back. "I could beat you, choke you- do all the things you've had done to Lance, but none of those seemed to stay with him long. His eyes were different." he lifts his bayard towards Rashra's face. "Knowing you worked for the Galra puts you on the same level as them- so I see no reason you can't take the punishment for what they did,"

Rashra's eyes widen in realization as the blade comes closer.

Steeling himself, Keith thought back to how terrified Lance had been while he was blind. How clingy and desperate he was for assurance. It made his heart ache to recall such things, edging him on for what he was about to do next.

"This is for Lance," he growls darkly, slashing his bayard forward to cut a jagged line from one of Rashra's horns to the other. Rashra screamed in agony, attempting to turn his head away and ruin Keith's aim. Stepping closer, forcing Rashra to turn his head towards him, he slashes at the other eye.

He had never been close enough before to actually watch or consider the damage he does to an enemy. Usually, it was a cut and go kind of attack during missions.

It made his stomach churn to watch the injury appear, but he didn't stop. He wouldn't stop till he was done.

Seeing that he managed to lacerate both of his eyes, Keith stepped back to watch a sickening orange substance drip from them, pooling on the floor below.

Turning back to look at the others he wasn't that surprised to see their expressions calm, almost satisfied with the display; these were a people of war, after all. Bloodshed, gore, death, they were normal to them.

Rashra's wails of agony echoed, leaving Keith feeling numb. Looking down at his bayard, watching the blood slide down it's slick frame, he tosses his arm to the right, splattering the wall with the substance to clean his own bayard of it.

Closing it and attaching it back to his belt, he watched Rashra roll onto his side, calling curses and other insults blindly towards Keith's direction. Stepping back, he let the others step forward for their own revenge.

He didn't leave until it was done.

They had broken evey bone in Rashra's body, impaling his arms, his legs, they left him alive as long as possible, forcing him to feel every torturous attack until he died of blood loss. Then, they took his body down and burned it, assuring there wasn't even a single trace of his being.

Keith didn't know what he was supposed to feel with this. Satisfaction? Joy? He felt nothing. Honestly, he assumed that perhaps he felt some sort of relief that it was finally over.

When everything was said an done, Tellru embraced Keith, holding him close and patting his head. She thanked him, but he didn't feel like he deserved it.

A second later, Dravla embraced him too, and Keith felt warm and comforted in their arms. "It's over," Dravla tells him, like he is assuring Keith of this. He nods numbly, embracing them back

"Are you going home?" Tellru inquired. Was he just supposed to go back after all this? He wanted to...

"I need to get back to Lance," he says. Tellru stops him from leaving, motioning down to his clothes. Keith grimaces at them, and asks Manson if there were any clothes he could borrow since his were bloody.

Manson gives him some of his old ones from when he was younger, patting Keith on the back, "Rest well, my friend. If there is anything you need, do not be afraid to ask."

Keith nods, thanking the King back. "You don't need to do that- we're okay,"

"I insist. I found my love's murderer today and am... well, I feel a little bit at peace. WIthout you and your Equivalent, Rashra would have still been wandering the streets, and I might have never known he was the one responsible. Thank you, Keith. When I see Lance again, I'll thank him too,"

Without much else to say, Keith took his leave.

It was a little later than he expected when he finally sauntered out of the Castle, fresh clothes on his body and bathed to hide the smell and look of blood on his person. Seeing that twilight was upon him, knowing it wouldn't be long till dawn, he booked it home.

Scrambling up the steps, he slipped into the apartment, stopping cold to see Lance sitting up in bed, staring out the window. The light of dawn washed over him in a gentle glow, illuminating his smooth skin and soft hair.

He turns, his eyes shining through his smile at the sight of Keith. "There you are," he says.

"I- sorry," Keith kicks off his shoes, "I was just-"

"Don't tell me," Lance lifts his arms up to embrace Keith. Stepping into them, falling back to lay on the bed, Lance kisses his hair, "I don't want to know."

"Lance…." Keith nuzzles into him. "I didn't-"

"I know you wouldn't kill him," Lance cuts him off, startling Keith.

"Y-You do?"

"I know you, Keith. You'll do what needs to be done, but you aren't a murderer. You are better than Rashra," Touched beyond words, Keith holds Lance closer, "I also know you probably wouldn't just let him go without some sort of revenge either. I don't want to know what you did. I want to put it behind us."

"As you wish,"

Lance nods, 'It got chilly without you here,"

"Have you been awake long?"

"No."

"Are you mad I left?"

"No." Lance pecks his cheek with a kiss, "I kind of expected it. It's fine,"

Rolling them over, Keith pulled Lance upward to kiss him, running his hands through chestnut hair. Lance melts into the embrace, lifting his arms to wrap around Keith's shoulders.

"Will-" Lance gasped between them, "Are we good now?"

"What do you mean?" Keith pulls away to stare at him.

"Rashra's gone, the team is probably on their way- I know Zarkon is still out there but- are we good now? Can we just be together now and be happy?"

Keith's heart swells, "Of course we can," he kisses him once more, soft and gentle, "Now that I have you, Lance, I'm never letting you go,"

"I'm holding you to that, Kogane," laying in bed for a few moments, Lance suddenly lifts his head, recalling something, "Do you remember a few weeks ago…. a little bit after that assassination attempt? You said we would go watch the sunset together," Lance murmurs against his neck

"I did," Keith recalls, "I say this is our perfect chance,"

Rising, the two tip toed out of the apartment, up the stairs, to the top of the apartment complex. Hand in hand, they sat towards the railing, letting their feet hand over the edge as they cuddled close, a blanket tossed over their shoulders

"I'm still waiting for that honeymoon," Lance whispers within the silence. His voice travels, waves of warmth kissing Keith's skin.

"I'm still planning. I want it to be perfect,"

"Take your time,"

Keith nods, then clears his throat, "But um… You won't laugh if it turns out to be stupid or something, right?"

"What do you mean stupid?" Lance inquires.

"I told you, I'm not good with Romance. So what I plan might be dumb or something,"

With a sweet laugh, Lance rests his head on Keith's shoulder, "I won't laugh," he promises, "I'll love whatever you do, Keith,"

Enjoying the view when the sun finally peeked over the horizon, Lance hums, "It's beautiful," Keith agrees, gripping Lance's hand tightly. "Hey," Lance gives a little tug to his shirt, "Who's clothes are these?"

"Manson's,"

"These are a little small to be Manson's,"

"From when he was younger,"

"Probably from when he was a child. You are wearing his baby clothes," Lance snickers.

"These aren't his baby clothes," Keith rolls his eyes.

"Have you seen how tall that guy is? He reaches almost 7 or 8 feet tall. Keith, these are his baby clothes. He probably wore these when he was under ten-years-old."

"That doesn't make him a baby," Keith concludes unwilling to admit he was as small as some Coeihn children. Hopefully tall Coeihn children.

"I honestly can't wait to see Shiro amongst these guys. He is super tall, so it will be funny that he is going to be considered short," Lance tells him

"Wait till they meet Pidge,"

"Ruru is gonna think Pidge is a kid just like her!" Lance laughs, throwing his head back. Keith joins in, patting his stomach. Letting their giggles die off, Keith leaned down to kiss Lance. Smiling, the blue paladin raises his eye brow, "What was that for?"

"Nothing in particular. I just like to kiss you,"

Lance swoons, "I like to kiss you too ya flirt,"

"So says the flirt,"

"You love it when I flirt," Lance disagrees.

Keith frowns, "Not when it is with other people- which is who you usually flirt with,"

Lance makes a dramatic gasping noise, "The only one I've flirted with since coming to this planet has been you," he jabs his finger into his chest.

Keith considers that "And... hopefully I'll be the only one after we leave... right?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Lance muses, nipping his bottom lip, "Of course I'll only flirt with you," taking Keith's face into his hands, he brought them together to share a blissful kiss.

Sitting there till the sun fully appeared into the sky, Keith and Lance walked back in to have some breakfast. Keith would watch Lance, mesmerized by him. He seemed so at ease, his face gentle and eyes warm.

Keith loved him so much. It made his heart hurt sometimes.

He was glad this thing with Rashra hadn't affected his mood. Or perhaps he was just trying to push through it and ignore the fact that it happened? Keith honestly wanted to do that same.

Keith wanted to make sure that smile never left Lance's face. He just wasn't sure how to keep it around.

"What should we eat today?" Lance inquired as they returned to their apartment.

"I'll make it," Keith offers.

Feeling like he couldn't get enough of the blue paladin to satisfy him, and hoping he never felt satisfied, Keith attempted to be romantic. He needed to learn so he could plan out that honeymoon properly.

Recalling the things Lance had done for him a few weeks ago, he pulled out the chair at the table for Lance when he went to sit down.

With the blanket still draped over his shoulders, Lance blinked at him curiously. Smiling he sat down, letting Keith push his chair in. Insisting he would make breakfast he quickly got to work, buzzling around in the kitchen.

He could feel Lance's eyes on him, smiling at him. He wanted to be a good Equivalent- one that was fun, easy to talk to- someone Lance could enjoy being around. Lance enjoyed being around him, right?

Finishing the food, he took their plates to the table, wondering if there was any way to make this breakfast a little different. Dravla has said it was always good to mix it up a little sometimes. Try new things...

"Oh uh…" Placing Lance's plate down on the table, Keith searches the room frantically. Not sure what he was up to, Lance tilts his head when Keith finds what he is looking for and places it in the middle of the table.

Revealing it to be a small candle, he lights it and sits down, scooting his chair in and clearing his throat. He stares at Lance expectantly, almost hopefully.

Lance just blinked at him, eyeing the candle. Since Keith never did anything like this, he wasn't quite sure what to make of the moment. "Um..."

Keith quickly explained, "I just wanted today to be nice. Just um-" he clears his throat, feeling nervous, "I'm horrible at this. I told you it would be dumb- sorry."

Realizing he was trying to get into the 'Romantic' feel of things, Lance smiles. "You're cute,"

Keith frowns, "I'm trying,"

"It's working," Lance assures him, "Candles always make things romantic,"

"They do?"

He shrugs, "Probably. I think they do, so I believe you're doing an excellent job, sweetheart,"

Biting his lower lip, Keith nods nervously. It was incredibly cute in Lance's eyes to see him trying so hard with this, and he couldn't wait to see what exactly Keith considered romantic.

Knowing he seemed unsure, Lance tells him, "It isn't that hard to be romantic. You don't have to go all out or anything. Just… little things. I mean, if you want to do big things, do big things, but little things work to,"

"What's considered a little thing?" Keith wonders.

Pondering that thought himself Lance explains, "I suppose it is just any way for you to show you love the other person. You want them to feel special. Like... " Lance got up to retrieve a writing untensil from the counter and returned to grab a napkin. Making sure Keith didn't see what he wrote, he scribbled a quick note, folded it, then slide it across the table to him.

Curious, Keith takes it and opens it up.

(" Do you even realize how amazing you are to me?)

" Like that," Lance concludes, "It's simply, small, and it-" he trails off to stare at the look on Keith's face. To Lance, he hadn't thought too deeply on that note and just wrote down the first thing that came to mind. It made him blush to see Keith's expression- pure joy, like Lance, had just gifted him the entire world.

"I think I get it," Keith murmurs, bringing the letter close to the chest before sticking into his pocket for a keepsake.

Swallowing thickly, his heart hammering, Lance nods, "G-Glad I could help," he stuffs his face with breakfast to avoid any more sudden embarrassment. Keith was just too cute.

Not wanting to go out that day, especially with Keith's protectiveness in full kill mode at the moment after what happened, Lance didn't mind spending the day at the apartment.

They spent their time curled together, snuggling or having sex.

Keith at one point insisted that it wasn't sex, which made Lance very confused.

"Then what do you call this?" he inquired quietly between them, cheeks flushed and breathing short.

"Making love," Keith nods his head proudly, so insistent and proud to have said this.

Lance wasn't sure whether to laugh, swoon, or cry- This paladin was unbelievably amazing.

He even wondered if this was the start of their Honeymoon since they were spending so much alone time together- and well, he kind of figured this is what a married couple kind of did.

Keith quickly told him no, saying that he would let Lance know when that started. He insisted that he wanted it to be perfect, just like how Lance made that date a few weeks ago perfect.

It made Lance's chest flutter with anticipation and he agreed to wait. He thought today great just being able to be with Keith- so he was pretty excited to see what Keith would do for their honeymoon.

...Which was a weird thing to say.

But hey, the day went great.

Till Keith was an ass and bit him again.

Right while they were, as Keith says, making love, he bites him! Several times!

Lance will never admit that he moaned or that it was somewhat of a turn on to him, even if it kind of was, because the bite marks he left were ridulous.

"Lance," Keith says

Lance turns away from him, hiding himself under the sheets to conceal his body.

Keith gave him the most pitiful look Lance had ever witnessed, "I'm sorry- I just- I dunno what came over me. I just did it,"

"You bit. My. Nipples," Lance sniffles at him, lifting his hands enough to peek at his chest. Perfect Keith teeth indentations surrounded his nipples, leaving reddening circles around both of them. "In fact, you've been biting a lot lately, mister!" Lance sits up to reveal his neck, showing the eveidence.

Keith scratches his head, looking like some sort of kicked puppy who ripped a shoe apart. He bows his head to Lance, apologizing again, "I just do it- I don't even realize I do it till it's already said and down," he tries to explain. "I can't control it,"

"Well then let me give you incentive; bite me again without asking and no more sex," Lance grumbles. As much as Lance might like it, he preferred his skin to be nice. Biting had to be limited to something that only happened every so often.

Looking horrified, Keith nodded, "I'll try-I mean, I promise." he looks determined to make sure this was seen through, and Lance wondered if he could actually pull it off. He busies himself with counting the bites, totallying it up to seven; his nipples, a few on his neck, and one on his thigh.

"How would you feel if I just went biting you all willy nilly?" Lance huffed.

Keith stifles a laugh at the word.

Lance tries to be mad, but hey, willy nilly is fun to say. "I asked you a question," he smirks a little, nudging Keith. He shrugs in response.

"I dunno,"

"Then let me try it," Lance sits up, his resolve found. Keith is caught off guard, suddenly looking timid.

"Right now?"

"Right now,"

Keith gulps, glancing down at himself, "W-Where?"

Lace shrugs, "I dunno. Give me your wrist," Deciding that Keith had given him a few strange bite marks, he might as well test it out somewhere not too noticeable. Suddenly seeming smaller, Keith slowly extended his wrist to Lance, watching with baited breath as he settled next to him.

Brushing his lips against the skin, hesitant, Lance opened his mouth around the area. Feeling the skin against his teeth, feeling unsure about this, he bit down lightly at first, not sure what Keith could find so compelling about.

Not wanting to hurt Keith, but definitely wanting to leave his own mark, he glanced up at him, curious to his reaction.

Lance ended up choking when he saw Keith's shoulders trembling; his face set ablaze- looking so turned out by just a simple bite alone. D-Did he actually enjoy that?!

Amazed, but also confused, he eyed Keith wearilly. He was trying to cover his face with his other hand, his cheeks flamming all the way up to his ears. "Did that feel good?" Lance inquired weakly.

Keith can't trust his voice and shrugs.

Lance knows better than that, and leans back down to his arm, letting his teeth travel a little higher this time. Choosing around his bicep, he bit the area a bit more firmly then that last, watching in awe as Keith came undone before him, abandoning himself completely to the feeling.

A low sound tore from the back of Keith's throat when Lance pulled back, almost sending him over the edge. His entire body felt electrified as he moved up to Keith's neck, pushing back his hair to reveal his slender, unbitten neck.

Keith faintly called his name, almost pleading for him to do it, and Lance happily obliged, chomping down on the junture between Keith's neck and shoulder. The Red paladin cried out, trembling beneath Lance's fingers.

Sweet. Parlog. Keith didn't like it, he loved it!

Lance didn't have much interest in bitting others, and being bitten had it's charm for a little while, but if he could get this kind of reaction from Keith, he should have been doing this from the start.

So Keith had a thing about biting, and being bitten apparently. That was cool, that was fun, that was… Let's face it, Lance was giddy about this. There was totally a word for liking stuff like this too, but Lance couldn't recall it off the top of his head. Either way, he had found some valuable information he could hence forth use to his advantage.

"Keith?" Lance leaned over him, smiling down at his panting Equivalnt. Clutching the side of his neck where Lance had bitten, Keith shivered, "Am I weird?" he inquired breathlessly.

"No," Lance tells him, "Well, maybe, but not for that. Everyone has different tastes and whatever- you should embrace this new side to you~"

Keith looks unsure, shyly asking, "Does that mean I can bite you when we make love?"

Adoring that he still and would forever refer to sex as that, Lance shakes his finger at him, "I said it was okay for you to like it. I'm a different story. I like it sometimes. You still gotta ask before you do it," he says, pointing at Keith warningly.

Keith nods, shifting closer to wrap his arms around Lance's frame, tugging him close.

Smiling at him, Lance snuggled close.

This was fantastic.

It was such an experience to learn these little things about each other. The idea of them still discovering more, and growing to learn those things together was so enticing that it made Lance's heart pound.

Content to just stay like this forever, Lance knew it wouldn't last.

The two were surprised when they heard a knock on the door a little while later. Leaving Lance to the bed, kissing him once before rising to his feet, Keith quickly tossed on a shirt and some pants before he went to the door.

When he opened it, he wasn't that surprised to find Tellru on the other side.

What he wasn't expecting was to see her so out of breath.

"What's up?" he asks, tensing, fearing a whole new problem.

"W-We just got… a message," she lifts her head to smile, "A ship, one from outside the planet, wishes to land here. The woman on the line said her name was Allura and that she is looking for her missing paladins."

Keith and Lance look at each other, grinning from ear to ear.

The team had found them

* * *

 **It's almost over. ;-; There is one more chapter guys. One more chapter, and then this story is done. Can you believe this?**

* * *

 **Reviews:**

 **AirenLag:** Oh my gosh, I'm sorry but also not sorry! XD Taking the life span of others through my writing is my secret hobby apparently! XD haha thank you so much for reviewing!

 **Guest:** ahaha XD Thank you so much! I'm so happy to hear that! You are welcome for compromising your health!

 **Devil Wolf Girl:** The other paladins are going to be in the next chapter, yup :3 It's going to be a roller coaster of a ride, that is for sure!

 **Pinkdoughnuts:** He dead now! He's all dead now, it is good! Don't worry! Thank you so much!

 **Ewink18:** Aww, Ewink, thank you so much. That means a lot to me, and thank you so much for the support. I'm super sad this story is ending, but hopefully you all like every other story that I post as much as you liked this one :3 I love getting your reviews and talking to you! Thank you!

 **KnightOwl247:** Second thattttttttttt

 **Adrianna Agray:** I always have a curveball up my sleeve. Always XD It ends in the next chapter, so hopefully you like this story to the very end!

 **Thecolorfulmonster:** THANK YOU! You are so sweet and i'm so glad you like the story, the characters, the smut, and all the other goodness! It has been such an honor getting your reviews and talking to you, and each review you send makes me so happy! So thank you! Klance or Leith! I don't even know! XD If I was told Leith, I probably would have gone with that ship name when I first started all this, but everyone said Klance, so I got used to that one XD So I'm probably sticking with that one

 **Deathlord-92:** I"M DONE WITH RASHRA TOO! THE TEAM IS COMING! :D Also, oh my gosh no I didn't get your review before! Thank you so much for saying all that lovely stuff ;-; You are so sweet and that has to be one of the best reviews I've gotten. I'm sobbing at everything you said and screencapped it just to save it and look at it. You are amazing, and taking the time to write all of that is just so touching. Thank you, truly, thank you. And you saying it is better than all those other fanfics is just- ahhh- it's killing me! I love those fanfics, so thank you!


	30. Epilogue

**Well guys ;-;**

 **This is it.**

 **This is the end.**

 **It has been quite a journey and I love you all**

* * *

Allura couldn't believe her eyes when a transmission filtered through to her controls. Not recognizing the coordinates it was being sent from, she looked into the planet's information before looking into the message.

Iespion

With time, she remembered that name from a long time ago, back when she was a child. They had taken a trip to that planet with her Father, back when Alteans still traveled to many worlds and held many alliances.

Iespion had been a world caught in a dark war between the two races that lived there; Coeihns and Traveks. Coeihns had been the more friendly of the two, and despite her Father needing to prove his worth to the Coeihn King, he grown to be good friends with them. Allura even recalled her Father attempting to end the war there, but only able to go so far before Zarkon made his move.

Wondering if that alliance made by her Father still held strong, despite their King being a different person now, she looked into the message. It wasn't a distress call, but more of an announcement and request for their arrival.

The message seemed to be from an old type of transmitter, so it had taken some time for it to get picked up by the ship.

Placing it into the Universal translator, it read the following:

(To the Paladins of Voltron, I am King Manson of the planet Iespion. I reach out to you today in hopes of reuniting you with your missing companions.)

Allura held her breath

(The Paladins known as Keith and Lance are here and are waiting for you. They arrived on our planet many months prior to this message and are eagerly waiting for you. Please come as soon as you are able. P.s. Lance says Hi.)

Allura had never slammed her hand down on the alarm button so fast. A few moments later her paladins rushed into the room, exhausted and confused.  
"Are we being attacked?" Hunk panicked.

"N-No…" Allura shakes her head, tongue-tied in her explanation.

"Princess?" Coran rushes to her, concerned to see her so flabbergasted.

She can't seem to speak, and motions to the message, knowing it would be easier if they just read it themselves. Coran, being the first to look it over, starting squawking, screaming and throwing himself about the room.

The others soon followed.

"Lance and Keith!?" Hunk demanded, tears already pooling in his eyes, "Really?!"

"Everyone, hold on," Despite looking thrilled, Shiro calmed himself to say, "We have to make sure this is real. For all we know, this could be the Galra trying to trick us," They had already gone through a moment like this before, drawn out to a planet through rumors of Keith and Lance being there. They had been ambushed, and luckily made it out alive, but it had made them weary of any other information regarding their missing friends.

"He is right," Allura agrees.

Looking up what information he can on the planet, Coran announces, "I've never received any information of Galra taking over this planet. It's been Galra free for thousands of years as far as I can tell." running a long distance scan he adds, "I also don't see any Galra ships surrounding the planet, but I can't say for any that might be on it,"

"Then we have to go there to see for ourselves," Pidge concludes.

"For now, I say we don't get our hopes up till we can learn the truth," Shiro instructs, knowing his team had been through enough as it is. It had been hard with Keith and Lance around. They couldn't form Voltron anymore, but they at least had the Blade of Marmora around to help them out.

Of course, they still fought against Zarkon when they could, but they made all attempts to avoid his main fleet till they could find some means to find Keith and Lance- or find someone to replace them till they could. Allura ended up being able to pilot the Blue lion after some time, but the Red was very picky on their paladin.

She let no one in but Keith, so forming Voltron had been a no go for months. Four lions were better than none at least, so they managed to get some good from it- taking down small fleets and freeing rebellion groups.

It wasn't the progress they would like in this war, but it was something. Most of their time had been spent on finding their missing friends.

Hearing this after half a year…

It sounded too good to be true. None of them wanted to admit it, but the thought that they might never find the two of them had crossed their minds.

"Everyone sit down. I'm worm holing us to the coordinates," Allura said. Doing as told, they wormholed there, welcoming the sight of the planet a few seconds later. Eyeing it wearily, the team glanced at each other.

"Are you sure this is the right location?" Pidge inquired, exhausted. "I don't see anyone,"

"Not surprising," Coran tells her, "If the information we have on this planet is still correct, then Coeihns aren't really known for travelling off world; so there wouldn't normally be space crafts around their planet."

"Traveks on the other hand are, though they were never known for having very advanced technology." Allura looks down at the scanners, "It's been a lot time though, so I'm sure they've grown more sophisticated. Keep your eyes out for them. They were never the most friendly group of people,"

Taking that in, the team scans the area, jumping when a transmission began to come through.

Glancing at each other, Allura nods to Coran to let the message through.

("State your business,") the being said from the other side. Allura motioned for Coran to activate the universal translator. Typing it in, Coran replayed the message, "State your Business,"

Stepping to her controls, Allura held down one of the buttons to translate her own message to the alien tongue, "I am Princess Allura of Planet Altea. We bring you no harm. We received a message from this planet a short time ago informing us that two of our paladins, Lance and Keith, were here," she holds her breath as she waits for a response. It had been the only lead to Keith and Lance for weeks, and all of them were anxious to see just how this played out.

For all they know, this could be a trap set by the Galra, but they had to wait and see.

Another message comes through, the voice different from before. This voice did not require a translator, and already seemed to be able to speak English, "Welcome, Princess Allura. I am King Manson of the Coeihn Kingdom. I have been expecting you. Lance and Keith have told me many things about you." the voice says gently.

Hunk jumps to his feet, "Are Keith and Lance there?! Like- really really there?"

"Yes," Manson chuckles from the other end. "I'll send you the coordinates where you can land and fetch Keith and Lance to greet you. Those two have saved our lives, so I welcome you with open arms."

With that said, Allura looks to Shiro to see what he wanted to do.

"There is a chance they could really be there," he folds his arms, staring down at his feet. Looking more exhausted than Allura would like, Shiro sighs, "I say we give it a try, but stay alert incase things go sour."

The team nodded in agreement, rushing to get dressed.

Putting on their paladin armor, not willing to chance that possibility that this still might be a trap, the team shoots out of the castle in a small pod. Landing on the ground, they step out to be welcomed by Coeihns. They had never seen these types of aliens before, and were quite amazed by their height alone.

One in particular, already waiting for them down below, was the tallest of them all, with sharp green eyes. He approached them slowly, dressed like one would dress a King and they knew he had to be the guy who sent the message in the first place.

"Princess Allura," The King held out his palm. Allura took it, startled when the King kissed the back of her hand in a charming manner. No one had done that since Altea, so it strangely brought back some nostalgic memories.

"King Manson, is it?" She smiles.

"That would be me," he nods, "Thank you for coming. It is an honor to meet you," his eyes trail up to the castle, amazed at the sight of it. "You have a very lovely ship,"

"Thank you," she nods,

Manson chuckles, "It is strange, when I was told that Paladins of Voltron had come to my planet, I wasn't quite sure if I could believe it. Voltron was more of a fairy tale I heard as a child, but seeing such an amazing ship, actually seeing an Altean in person, and not to mention seeing your paladin's in action- I can't help but think that it must be true."

"You're talking about Keith and Lance?" she asks.

"Are they here?" Pidge and Hunk chip in, looking around wearily.

"They are on their way," The King nods, "They saved my entire people,"

"They did?" Shiro raises his eyebrow, wondering how the two managed to do that without their lions.

"Yes, they were quite exceptional," Manson says.

The team share a shocked look, "Really?"

"Quite a team, those two," he continues, "My son adore them. He often tells me he wants to grow up to be like the Blue champion,"

"The blue what?" Shiro inquired.

"Oh, I apologize. I am referring to Lance. The Blue champion is what my people praise Lance to be after he defeated me four strongest warriors and right hand,"

"Wha-" the team doubled back, shocked. "He did what?"

Before the King could elaborate there was a faint sound of screaming coming from the distance that had them all pausing. The King straightens and turns, amusement filling his eyes, "That seems to be them now,"

A moment later, a strange looking beast shot over the hill, barreling down it with two passengers riding on it's back.

"Slow down, Keith!" a voice shrieked

"I got this!"

"No, you don't! TREE! TREE!" The creature barely maneuvered around a purple tree of all things in time to avoid damage to the two riders.

Sliding faster than the two seem prepared for, they lurch forward, grunting. "Ugh…." the one in the back smacks the one who had been steering the Parlog, snapping, "Under control, huh?"

"We're here, aren't we?" they bark back.

Shiro steps closer, his tongue thick and breathing coming short, "K…" his knees almost buckle, "Keith? Lance?"

The two turn their heads, and Shiro knows it is them. They both look a little tanner, covered in bruises and other injuries and dressed in this worlds clothing, but it was them all right.

Hunk is already crying, shaking his head in disbelief, "Lance!"

Lance is waving frantically, "Hunk! Pidge! Shiro!" He slides down from the back of the creature and turns to run. Pausing mid run, he turns back quickly to help Keith off. They were confused about why he had to do this till they realized Keith's ankle was bandaged and set, most likely broken.

Letting Keith lean against him, the two are moving towards the team as fast as they could

Hunk and Pidge made the distance for them, sprinting to tackle the two to the ground.

"You're alive!" Hunk wailed, "You're actually alive!"

"We thought we would never see you again!" Pidge grins into Keith's shoulder. The two paladins are laughing, tears pouring from Lance's eyes.

"Us too," he hiccupped, "I'm so glad to see you guys."

"Lance! Lance! Lance my dear buddy, dear pal-" Hunk was suddenly screaming, "Your eyes!" This close to Lance, and not even realizing he was wearing glasses, he can see the healed over scars that covered his eyes. "Oh my god…" he covered his mouth at the sight.

Pidge was just a horrified, "Who- how did that-?"

"A druid snagged me that day I disappeared," Lance explains to them, "I-It's okay though. It's healing. I can see if I have these on," he pushes up his glasses.

"Ah-oh- Lance," Hunk sniffles, hesitant to even touch the injury, his hands trembling, "Did it hurt?"

Pidge elbowed him, "Of course it hurt,"

"It's okay," Lance assures him, "I'm fine now,"

"Lance! Keith!" Allura comes running a second later, kneeling down to pull the two into a hug. "Oh you foolish paladins, you had me worried sick. What in the world happened to you two!?

Pulled into a massive hug consisting of the entire team, Lance glances at Keith, "It is a long story," they say.

"Yeah," Keith looks to Shiro, reaching out to smack their hands together. Pulled into their leader's chest, Shiro laughs, his voice trembling.

"I… I stared to think that we would never-" he cuts off, sniffing, "You two just love worrying me, don't you?"

"Always, space Dad," Lance sniffles.

"Sorry, Shiro," Keith mumbles into his shoulders, holding him close. Letting Shiro pull them to their feet, they hit the ground again when Coran flew at them, tackling the two.

"Coran!' they gag, happy to see him

"It's nice to see you lads!" he sniffles. "You don't know how much we missed you,"

The next few minutes were filled with tears, hugging, fretting over unknown injuries, and pure joy to be reunited.

Stepping towards them, smiling at the sight, the King clears his throat to catch their attention.

"You all must have travelled a long way. Allow us to make you all a feast to welcome you to our world. That should give you all plenty of time to catch up," Manson offers."

"Thanks Manny," Lance grins at him. Getting up, Lance and Keith lead the team back to the city, showing them as much as they could on the way.

They explained about so many different things that the team struggled to follow.

"S-Slow down," Allura says, "How about you explain how you two go here in the first place?"

"A druid," Keith tells them. "They had attacked Lance from behind-"

"Which is how I got this injury," he motions to his eyes.

"And then when I tried to get him back to the ship, they managed to teleport us here. I don't think they even meant to and just kind of cast the first spell they could think of to stop us." Keith shrugs.

"I can't believe it," Pidge murmurs, "We had no idea what happened."

"You didn't?" Lance asks.

"The spot where you disappeared had no surveillance," Shiro tells them, "When you disappeared, we have virtually no clue to what happened. You two were just… gone," he reaches out to pat Keith's shoulder, ecstatic to see him alive.

"That's why you weren't able to find us for so long. You didn't have any leads," Lance realizes.

"Yes. We had to go off of rumors we received from travelling around or from the Blade of Marmora. No one knew where you two went," Allura agrees.

Keith says, "We were just a shocked. We had no idea where we were when we came here."

"And it sure took a lot to convince the Coeihns we were on their side," Lance agrees, finding it surprising how he could laugh at the memory now. That first day had been terrifying, and he thought he would lose himself to the insanity of the dark more times than once... but Keith had been there to help pull him through it.

"How come it took you so long to contact us?" Coran inquired, looking up when they began to approach the Kingdom. The Coeihns guarding the gates bowed to them as they passed, welcoming Keith and Lance with bright smiles, like they were heroes amongst them. If what the King has said earlier was true, they probably were.

"We had to earn the Coeihns trust first, of course" Lance explains, "I had to go through a big test to get their respect cause I was an outsider,"

"Wait- I thought you said you injured your eyes though?" Pidge asked.

"He did," Keith nods, looking to Lance with a proud gleam in his eyes, "He was completely blind for the first couple months we were here. The challenge was for the rite of citizenship-"

"I'm technically a Coeihn citizen right now," Lance quickly added.

"Yeah. To get the citizenship he had to fight five of their strongest warriors one after another. He beat them all,"

"Blind?" the team gasps.

"Well," Lance shrugs, embarrassed, "Not the last one. He kind of threw the match for me so I could win. He is a good friend. I probably wouldn't have beaten him otherwise,"

"Is that so?" Manson inquired, catching their attention, "I suppose I found the match kind of fishy, but I wasn't aware he threw it for you,"

Lance pales, "I-Is that okay?"

"You are my friend, I'm not mad," The King chuckles

"Plus you won the other four all on your own. And you were blind." Keith puts a hand on his shoulder, "It was the coolest thing I've ever seen,"

Lance turns to him with a shocked look that morphs into a touched smile, "Really?"

"Blind," Coran tutts, "How incredible. Good on you, my boy," he pats Lance's back, looking like a proud parent.

"That does sound impressive," Allura praises. Blushing a little, Lance scratches the back of his head and laughs,

"It wasn't that big of a deal. I just did what I had to so I could save Keith,"

"Save him?" Shiro asks.

"Yeah, he was a pure at the time," Lance says, like that should just explain everything. Realizing none of the team understood he cleared his throat, "He was- um… He had black hair and Coeihns have a thing for people with black hair, so they choose me to go into the ring instead."

"And then he opted for the citizenship to get us both out of there," Keith says quickly, a little shy about the topic.

"When we did, we tried to get into contact with you guys, but the Galra had some weird signal thing that was cutting off all form of communication. It took forever to find it. We only managed to destroy it a few days ago,"

"Then the Galra were here?" Allura looks around, "This planet doesn't seem to be overtaken by them."

"They tried to a few days ago" Keith and Lance glance at each other, "With the Coeihns help we managed to push them back." Stepping into the Kingdom hallways, Lance grins brightly.

"Yeah, it was nuts! It was just this big battle! Coeihns against Galra! And let me tell you, these guys can put up a fight! It was so cool!"

"Lance took out the communication blocker with the King," Keith points to him.

"The King?"

Yeah, I teamed up with him." he glances back at Manson, who nods.

"I was imprisoned by the Galra and Lance came to my aid. I was so unfamiliar with the Galra's ship that my people and I would never have escaped without him."

"Aww," Lance looks away, "It was nothing, Manny,"

"To my people, it was far from nothing, my friend," Manson turns when someone calls to him down the hall. Bowing to the others, he makes his leave, running off to finish preparing the feast.

The team was left in utter shock, not sure whether to be more amazed that Lance managed to go through all of this of this on his own, or that he was close enough friends with a King to call him by a nickname.

"And Keith was there too! He started a rebellion group with his own Coeihns- oh but Keith almost died…"

"What?!" Shiro gasps.

"Yeah, I know. I was totally freaking out," Lance says in a way that looks like he is trying to act natural about it, like it was in the past, but he puts a hand to his heart and stares at his feet- the memory clearly still horrifying him. "His heart stopped and everything. The guy gave me a heart attack,"

Keith reaches out for him, gripping his arm, "I'm sorry,"

"It's okay- you lived so it's good," he nudges Keith, who nudges him back, "Though if you ever do that to me again and I'll kill you myself."

"Well, now you know how I felt since we got here. Everything here tried to kill you!"

"But my heart never stopped! You were dead Keith! Legit dead!"

"... I got better," Keith says in such an oblivious way it is almost comedic.

Lance laughs, throwing his head back and wrapping his arm around Keith's shoulder. He leans into him, shaking them both a little. Keith can't help but snort too, resting his head back on Lance's shoulders, nuzzling close in a tight hug.

"Um..."

Keith froze when he realized the others were staring at them, their eyes wide. He wasn't sure what their problem was, but it didn't take long to figure it out.

He forgot- they had been gone for months. While Lance and his relationship had been something they grew into and accepted- the last time the Voltron crew saw them, they were at each other's throats.

"L-Lance," he warned him. Lance cuts off and goes red in the face with embarrassment, realizing the team had probably started to figure out what was going on. However, Hunk proves him wrong by laughing.

"Aww, I'm glad to see you two finally getting along,"

"They have been stuck together for months- they probably didn't have a choice," Pidge snorts, "Though I am surprised that you two managed to go this long without killing each other."

"We're a team guys," Shiro chides them, "If they didn't have some sort of bond we wouldn't have been able to form Voltron. Stop teasing them."

"But it is a nice change," Allura chuckles.

"Oh uh-" Keith laughs awkwardly, realizing they didn't quite get it. They had just assumed they had grown to be good friend instead of… "We should probably explain to them," Keith mutters.

"Why? Are they staring?" there is something in Lance's tone. Months of Lance inquiring that question then kissing him came flashing back and Keith had to hold up his hands. He wasn't thinking of just doing that in front of them- was he?

"N-Not in front of them," he whispered shyly so only Lance could hear.

Lance was chuckling, "You seem embarrassed suddenly, Keith." he teases, "It was just a simple question."

Keith hit him a few times in the chest, knocking him back, "Lance," he hisses, "You know what I mean."

Lance leans in a little to quietly say, "Hey, you were the one who made out with my in front of King Manson when we first met him. I don't think you have any right to be embarrassed,"  
"I- that was different," Keith insists.

"What's different?" Coran inquires, the team looking back to listen to two.

"N-Nothing," Keith stammers. "We were just- the food is almost ready. We should go join the King." he points down the hall where Manny had disappeared to.

'Yes," Lance grins impishly, "After you," he does a graceful bow that makes Hunk and Pidge snort at him. Allowing the team to go first, Lance follows them- but not before giving Keith's ass a good smack for good measure. With an indignant squeak, Keith shoves him back.

"We have to tell them eventually, you know. My dear Equivalent," Lance informs him, quiet enough so the team wouldn't hear.

"I know. We will. I just-" Keith blushed, "It's embarrassing. I've never done this before so I don't know how to just tell somebody that you're- you know, that you're mine,"

"Well usually boyfriend suffices, or that we are going out, or that we're lovers- but you can completely go ahead and tell them that I'm yours. That works too," Lance smirks.

Keith hits him, "Shut up,"

"Aww, Keithy-boy is shy," Lance leans over to kiss Keith's cheek before any of the team could notice.

Pouting, but happy all the same, they joined the team in the dinning room. When they arrived, they were thrilled to see that Tellru had rushed off to fetch Dravla and Ruru and were there waiting for them.

"So these are your friends," Dravla says, eyeing the group with a smile. Grinning from ear to ear, Lance runs to him.

"Dravla! Oh! Oh guys, this is Dravla. He is one of the Coeihns that helped us when we first got here. He's great,"

"Aww, thanks Lance," Dravla chuckles, turning to shake Shiro's hand, "Nice to meet you."

"You speak English?"

"Thanks to me," Tellru peeks out from behind him, Ruru right at her side.

Lance was overjoyed, happy to introduce the team to the family he had befriended here on this planet, "Everyone, this is Tellru. She is a translator here and learned the English language to help us. If it wasn't for her, we probably wouldn't have survived."

"Hello," she bows respectively. "Lance has told me a lot of you all."

"I am Ruru!" Ruru lifts her hand.

"Yes, this lovely little lady is Ruru," Lance lifts her up, "She saved my life,"

"I saved Lala's life!" she cheers, "I awesome!"

"You are awesome!"

"Aww, cute," Hunk waves to her. Grinning Ruru went to each one of the team to greet them.

"Ruru," she says, holing out her hand.

"Hey there. I'm Pidge," Pidge takes it.

"Pudge," Ruru nods.

Pidge's jaw drops, "Pidge," she corrects.

"I wouldn't even try, Pidge," Keith says, "To this day, she still calls me Keef and Lance, Lala,"

"It's a cute name," Lance shrugs, "I don't mind it."

"Well then, I'm Hunk," Hunk greets her.

"Huk,"

"This is Shiro," Keith points to him. "Shi-Ro."

"She-row," she nods, looking determined. She was close but seemed to emphasize each word a little too much.

Keith leans a little closer, "Shiro."

"She-row."

"Shiro."

'She-row."

Keith sighs and pulls back, "I give up."

"It's fine, Keith," Shiro chuckles, kneeling down to shake Ruru's hand. She takes it and shakes it enthusiastically.

When she looks at Coran, she was absolutely enthralled by his beard. She even asked to touch it, which Coran allowed. "Hello there Ruru, I am the great Coran!"

Ruru blinked a few times, struggling with the name, "C...Coan?"

"Coran!" he declares proudly.

"Coan…?"

"I accept such a name too," he pats her head. Finally, Ruru turns to let Lance introduce her to Allura. Allura is thrilled to meet the child and waves to her.

"Hello Ruru,"

Ruru stops cold, her eyes widening. Lance can see a sparkle in the child's eyes and realizes something…

"Ruru," he says, like he is about to tell her a secret, "This is Princess Allura," he stressed the first part. Ruru covers her mouth

"Pr-Princess?" she gasps, hoping excitedly on her feet. When Allura holds out her hands, Ruru is fanning her face.

"Oh my gosh," Tellru chuckles behind them, "She's is so happy."

"She is meeting a princess, dear. Of course, she is happy," Dravla laughs.

"H-Hello Princess," Ruru takes her name. "I-I Ruru."

"You may call me Allura, Ruru." she chuckles,

"O-Okay... Allura," she says so perfectly that Keith throws his hands up.

"She can say Allura, but she can't say Keith?" he demands.

"You aren't a Princess, Keith," Lance teases, pinching his cheek. Keith turns to try and take a nip at Lance's finger, making the blue paladin laugh and quickly retract his hand. If he had been paying attention, he would have noticed that Coran was staring at them curiously.

"(Princess Daddy. I met a princess,)" Ruru runs to her father to tell him, "(A real Princess! She is so pretty! So pretty!)"

"She is calling you pretty," Dravla tells Allura when she raises her eyebrow,

Ruru buries her face in her father's shoulder to hide her embarrassment.

"Awe," Allura cooed, touched and loving the small child already. "I think you are very pretty too, Ruru."

If Ruru wasn't happy already, she was thrilled now. Insisting that she wanted to sit next to Allura, they all sat down at the table to eat, talking about everything they could.

The Team explained to Lance and Keith everything they had been doing while Keith and Lance did their best to tell them everything that happened to them.

Realizing it was a lot to go over, Lance felt a little overwhelmed.

"Thank you again for contacting us," he pauses when he hears Allura talking with Kind Manson. "You don't know how much it means to us to have Keith and Lance back.

"Of course. It is an honor for you all to be here and you may stay as long as you like," King Manson tells her.

Lance smiles when the two begin to discuss the possibility of becoming allies, loving the idea of being able to stay in contact with the Coeihns.

Overall, the evening was perfect. Though it was kind of hard to go into detail about everything that happened with how nervous Keith was about telling everyone they were in a relationship. Well more of, he was nervous to tell Shiro.

Lance understood, knowing how embarrassed he was to tell his parents the first time he ever went out with someone.

Hoping to calm his nerves, Lance held Keith's hand below the table, running his thumb over each of his knuckles, and brushing their thumbs together. Keith glanced at him, relief and love burning deep in his eyes. His foot nudges Lance and the two share secret smiles.

"Keith?" When their leader spoke up, the red paladin turns his head, curious.  
"Yeah?"

"What happened there?" Shiro motioning to Keith's arm. Not sure what he meant, Keith looked down to explain that it was most likely from the Galra attack, when he realized Shiro was pointing to the bite mark along his wrist.

Keith froze up, his eyes doubling in size and cheeks flushing red.

"T-That's from- uh…"

"Did A Galra bite you?" Pidge asked incredulously, "Jeez,"

"Oh yeah, he definitely got bit," Lance nods, smirking smugly, "You should have seen the look on his face when it happened. He was beat red,"

"With rage?" Hunk guessed.

"Sure,' Lance smiles, and Hunk frowns in confusion.

Keith quietly pinches Lance below the table.

"Yeah, Keith got into all sort of trouble here." Lance continues without missing a beat, "There were a lot of cool things too. Keith did most of the crazy things though,"

"Crazy?" the team question, but kind of expected that.

"Yeah, crazy, but the cool kind. Like the festivals and events and-"

"Lance went seashell collecting at the beach." Keith suddenly tells Shiro, recalling the memory.

"Oh my gosh, the beach was so nice and the-"

"And the Kraken," Keith nods vigorously.

"The Kraken!" Lance exclaims, laughing, "That thing was crazy!"

"But it was nice and guards the people," Keith tells the team, who blinks at them wildly.

"And you have to see the Kever's," Lance adds

"Lance was too afraid to go on them at first," Keith points to him.

"I couldn't see, and it was a bug, Keith. My fear was well warranted,"

"You had to hold my hand," he teases

"It was a bug! A huge bug!"

"And that time you accidentally stepped onto one and Dravla had to go and help you," Keith snickers.

"That was terrifying, don't laugh," Lance says despite nudging him. "And the Parlogs!" he suddenly gasps. "Keith went to ride one! He was insane!"

"I beat it. We become friends,"

"After it almost killed you," Lance points to him.

"We shared a bond. It was a bonding moment,"

Lance is snickering, and Keith is too, and the both of them yell, "Sweet Parlog!" and burst into a fit of giggles.

The Team was speechless.

The two talked about too many different things for the team to understand or follow what they meant without being there themselves, so they just nodded as the two talked excitedly about their time here.

It was strange to them to see Lance and Keith getting along so well. They had never seen the two talk so much without bursting into an argument. In fact, Keith never talked this much in general. How much had they changed since coming here?

"And then Ruru stabbed the guy in the play, cause apparently, he killed her in her past life as a tree," Lance pretends to stab Keith,

"No no- she stabbed the Duke who worked for the guy who cut her down," Dravla corrects.

"Oh, right right. He turned out to be her long lost brother or something, right?" Lance asks.

Tellru shakes her head, "Cousin twice removed,"

"Ah, gotcha. Difficult to remember when the play was in a different language," Lance waves it off. "And then I got kidnapped,"

"And Ruru impaled a man with a bar from her braces," Keith adds in quickly, "Saved Lance's life,"

"She is my hero," he points to her, and she gushes, grinning brightly. "Love ya, sweetpea!"

She makes a heart with her hands, and the team just stares, pale and not quite understanding anything that was being thrown at their faces.

"Y-You were kidnapped?" Hunk stammered

"And almost killed," Lance nods

"He almost got killed several times," Keith points out, grumpy with this fact

"So did you," Lance huffs at him, "I will remind you that one time they succeeded in killing you."

"Yeah but you were there, so it was fine. I'm alive. And that is not as many times as people have tried to kill you,"

"Oh right, because you were the precious pure that everyone wanted to get a bite out of," Lance made an ugly face that has Keith laughing,

"Don't say it like that. It's weird,"

"Why? Aren't you a fan of biting?" Lance says in a weird way and Keith starts stammering, smacking Lance with his spoon to shut him up. Lance came back at him with his own spoon.

"No spoon fighting at the table," Tellru scolds them seconds before a spoon tapped her cheek. Turning her head, she narrowed her eyes at her Equivalent, who blinked innocently.

She took up her own spoon and held it threateningly over her head. The three boys quickly lowered their eating utensils and cleared their throats, mumbling apologies

"R…Right," Allura nods awkwardly, "I understand nothing that you two are talking about, but I'm so happy you two seemed to have a good time."

"Yeah, you two are almost like completely different people… at least Keith does," Pidge motions to him. Confused, he tilts his head.

Lance hadn't really thought of it, but perhaps she had a point. Keith had always been considered the loner, almost never talking or interacting with the group unless he needed to. But now, he was so much more open to everyone.

Nudging Keith's foot with his own under the table, the two share a smile.

"Guess so," they shrug.

After dinner, they moved to a lounge sort of area to sit down and talk, discussing many different types of topics. Allura spoke to Manson about Zarkon and their fight against them. Coran got into a discussion with Tellru about languages- and Dravla was admiring all of the paladin's weapons. He seemed to really take a fancy to Shiro's arm, completely losing his mind when he activated it to show how it glowed and could slice through most metals and other things.

Lance was content enough to simply watch this go on, happy that everyone was getting along.

But then…

"Nooo!" Lance turns suddenly when Ruru screams. Tears are pooling in her large eyes and her cheeks are turning a shade of orange, "No no!"

"Ruru," Keith chokes out. They seemed to have been talking, and Keith said something to upset her. When she turns to leave, Keith tries to follow, but his ankle only lets him get so far.

"Hey," Lance runs to help him, taking his arm, "What in the world was that about?"

"I- she- I didn't mean to upset her," Keith sighs, looking guilty, "She asked if the others were staying forever and I told her that they had to go… then I told her we had to go to fight Zarkon."

"Oh dear," Tellru sighs, "She must have thought you two would be staying forever. She loves you two so much,"

Keith frowns at his feet, looking torn, "I love her too…" he whispers to himself.

Lance wraps his arms around Keith's shoulder, "It's okay. Come on, let's go find her."

"It would probably be best if you two explain," Dravla agrees.

Knowing he was right Lance and Keith shuffle off, making their way after the Coeihn child.

As the two left, Pidge leans over to Hunk. "Hey,"

"What?"

"Have you noticed… how strange they seem?" she asks

"You mean Keith and Lance?"

"Yeah. They are both just so different… And they are getting along so well,"

Hunk reaches up to rub his chin, "Oh hey yeah, you're right. Well, I mean, I guess they kind of have to get along if they were trapped on a planet together."

"True," Pidge can't help but stare at the door where they just disappeared. Honestly, she always thought if they put away their pride, they could be good friends. But something about the two of them seemed more than just that…

If they looked to Coran, they would see him looking in the direction the two boys went, a distant look in his eyes. As if understanding something, he smiles.

* * *

"Ruru!" Lance calls, managing to locate her along the balconies down the hall. Curled up along one, she sniffles, turning away.

"Ruru," they approach her slowly, their hearts aching at the sight of her puffy eyes and orange cheeks.

"Go away," she barks at them, "Leave me alone…"

"Ruru, please, let's talk," Lance pleads

"No! You gonna leave! You gonna leave me alone and forget about me!"

"Never," Keith shakes his head, "We would never forget about you."

"You gonna leave!"

"I'm sorry, Ruru," Keith tells her, "It's…" he sighs, not sure how to explain this. "I have to go. I mean I - I want to stay but I can't. We have to go."

"Why?!" She screams, tears pouring from her small face, "Why no stay forever?"

Keith was unsure of what else to say, never having to calm Ruru down when she was mad at him before. In fact, Ruru had never been angry with them the entire time they had been here. He was at a lost, unsure of hating himself for having brought these tears to her eyes. "Ruru..."

Lance on the other hand, held a calm expression, and even managed to smile at her. "Ruru," he says softly, "Listen to me closely. We can't stay forever, at least not right now. But that doesn't mean we would ever forget you or not come visit,"

Sniffling, she wiped a few of her tears away, ready to turn away and go back to her sulking.

"You know how your dad is the Fifth champion?" Lance inquires softly, catching her attention.

Ruru nods, "Yeah,"

"It is like that," he smiles, lifting her chin to say, "He has a duty as the fifth champion to go into that ring everyday. He has a duty as a good friend to be there for Manson as his second in command. And he has a duty as your father to always be there for you and do whatever it takes to protect you. As paladins, we have a duty to stopping the bad guy,"

Ruru blinked a couple of times, nodding slowly.

"We aren't going to be gone forever," Lance promises her, "But there are a lot of people, a lot of little girls out there just like you, who need us. We're heroes, after all. And what do heroes do?"

"S-Save the day," Ruru whispers.

"That's right, sweetpea," Lance ruffles her hair, "So I promise we'll come back to visit whenever we can. I'll even take you flying,"

"Flying?!" she gasps, perking up.

"In the Blue lion of Voltron."

Ruru leaps to her feet, bouncing excitedly, "The blue one! They big?"

"Blue is huge! Bigger than your house!" Lance laughed.

Ruru threw her arms up, amazed, "Bigger my house?! Bigger my house?! W-Will you come back super soon?" her excitement dies a little, and she grows shy.

Lance lifts his pinky out to promise her, shaking firmly, "We'll be back as soon as we can. That's a promise," Nudging Keith to join in on that pledge they connect their pinkies and shake on it.

Retracting her hand back, Ruru smiles, "I go tell Papa!" she runs off a second later to tell her Father the exciting news on how she was going to go flying in the Blue Lion.

"How did you do that?" Keith asks, watching Ruru run back inside.

"I have a lot of little siblings," Lance shrugs, "Sometimes you just have to assure them that something isn't as bad as it appears to be."

"I never had any younger siblings so I'm not too used to smaller kids- at least not when they get upset like that," Keith scratches the back of his neck.

"Oh..." Standing in a small silence, Keith realizes Lance is staring at him, "What?" he smiles.

"You look handsome tonight," Lance announces, admiring his Equivalent in the light of the full moon. Lulling his head onto Lance's shoulder, looking out to the Kingdom, Keith sighs contently.

"You do too,"

Tonight might be their very last night here on the Coeihn world. It was kind of bittersweet.

"Did you know this planet is called Iespion?" Lance inquired quietly between them, wrapping his arms around Keith's waist and bringing him close.

"Is it?"

"Yeah. Tellru said it earlier and I realized I never bothered to ask what the planet was called till now,"

"Huh," Keith nods, "Me either. It's nice to know,"

There is a long pause between them as they stare up at the moon.

"...Werewolves come out at this time," Keith announced.

Lance leans into him, snorting, "You just had to add that into this perfect moment,"

"I'm just stating a fact," Keith smirks.

Titling Keith's face back, Lance presses their lips together for a kiss. Melting into it, Keith sighs again when they pull away. "We should get back," Lance whispers.

Keith knows they should, but he can't seem to be able to move his feet. As much as he loved the team, he preferred to stay right here, entangled in Lance's arms.

"Do we have to?" he mumbled, lifting himself a little to brush their lips together. Lance is falling apart at the touch.

"We should,"

"But do we have to?" Keith's tongue flicks out, catching Lance by surprise when it dances against his lower lip. Inhaling sharply, he groans Keith's name.

"You'll have me to yourself later tonight," he murmurs, knowing they wouldn't leave the planet till tomorrow. "You just have to old out till then,"

"That sounds like too long of a wait," Keith admits.

Giggling, Lance turns them to start heading back into the castle, "Patience yields focus,"

"You play dirty," Keith gawked at him for using those words. Reaching out to snatch Lance's wrist, the Blue paladin is too quick for him. Lance is already sprinting back into the doors, satisfied when he heard Keith wobbling after him, put at a disadvantage with his leg.

"You get back here!"

Rejoining the others, Keith following slowly behind, Lance was relieved to see Ruru in happier spirits. Tellru gave him a nod of thanks, returning to talk to Hunk, who excitedly told her of other worlds they had travelled to.

The rest of the night was filled with joy, a very happy reunion between both groups. When the hours began to grow late, Ruru yawned, climbing up into Lance's lap to lay her head on his chest. Cradling her, he patted her back till she fell asleep.

Dravla noted this and cleared his throat, "I think it's time we all head to bed,"

The paladins, feeling their own exhaustion, nodded.

"You coming back to the castle, Lance?" Hunk inquired.

"Actually, if you guys would mind, I kind of want to stick around at the place I've been staying at for one more night. Kind of like a way to say goodbye," he says.

"Of course," Allura smiles, understanding. "Then we shall see you tomorrow,"

"We can meet up at the Castle," Lance agreed, waving to the team when they turned to head back to the ship. Watching them disappear into the night, Lance sighed, tilting his head back to enjoy the breeze.

Now that they were leaving, how long would it be until he could enjoy an atmosphere like this? They never tended to stay at planets too long, so he was never able to just enjoy his time on it.

"Hey," Keith's hand slips into his, 'You okay?"

"I'm good,"

Smiling, they followed Tellru and the others, letting their friendly Coeihn family walk them home. Since Ruru fell asleep in Lance's arms, he offered to carry her the entire way back, savoring their last moments together.

Lance was sad to realize this would be the last time they took care of her for a while. "So um… what are you two going to do about nanny's?"

Tellru and Dravla paled, "We have no idea- but we'll try to work something out. She's matured a lot since meeting you both, so maybe it won't be as tough now,"

"Hope so," Keith says. Realizing they were matching Keith's speed, taking the trip slow, Lance was grateful for the time. It would be his last time walking back with them.

His last time walking through this city at night.

Last time…

All these thoughts were making him depressed.

"We'll have to come back and visit," he announced when they stopped in front of their apartment.

'You will," Tellru tells him. "This apartment will still be yours for when you return,"

"It will?" Lance asked, surprised

"Manson made sure of that. Consider it a gift for when you decide to visit. You two are welcome here at any time of course," Dravla grins.

Touched, Lance carefully handed Ruru to them.

"Thank you,"

"No, thank you," They bow to them, "Goodnight, Klance," The wink, and Lance can't help but roll his eyes.

"Those two..." he sighs.

As they climbed the steps for the last time, Lance felt a wave of sadness wash over him. Reaching out to take Keith's hand he says, "This will be our last night here,"

"For a long time probably, yeah,"

They had shared so many memories here. Some bad, some good- all together.

"No more strange food," he sighs.

"No more Kever's,"

"Not too upset about that, but yeah," Lance chuckles. "No more Parlogs," he glanced at Keith, "No more alone time,"

Keith looked startled at that, not realizing that would be a thing till now. They wouldn't be able to just spend their days in bliss and peace. Every day would be a fight for their lives. Training, fighting- Keith recalled some days barely even able to slip in some sleep. How would he find some alone time with Lance?

"The beds in the castle aren't that big either," Keith agrees softly, his heart aching at this realization.

"Well," Lance steps closer; curling his fingers through Keith's hair. The red paladin shivered, "I guess we'll just have to use our bed for all it's worth before we leave,"

Slipping a hand around Lance's waist, tugging him close, Keith smirks, "I can arrange that," Without another word, Lance is pulling Keith in, kissing him hard on the mouth.

Stumbling into the room, entangled in each other's arms, they almost trip into the table, Lance falling half on top of it.

They kiss like that, giggling and giddy and impossibly high off each other, and it feels like a welcome home. With a few desperate gasps, tilting his head back when Keith began to kiss his throat, Lance chuckles.

"This isn't the bed, Keith," His thumbs circle around Lance's chest, enticing a gasp from the blue paladin. "Keith," he repeats, "The bed,"

Keith agrees after a short while, pulling them from the table so fast they end up tripping into the mattress. Landing in a large heap, the two snort, cut off with their tongues push into the other's mouth.

"Keith…?" there is a tug on his hair.

"Hmm?"

"How you want this to go?" Lance inquired between them. Pausing, puzzled, Keith shrugs.

"How it usually goes,"

"Top or bottom?" Lance inquired with a grin.

Realizing what he meant, Keith's cheeks brightened as he reached over Lance to turn off the lamp light, enveloping them in the darkness of their apartment. It didn't take long for their eyes to adjust. "I don't know,"

"Well what do you want?" Lance husks, leaning closer to brush his lips to Keith's chin, teasing him.

"You," he groans.

"And what exactly does that entail?" Lance muses

"I- geez Lance, I dunno. You." Keith mumbles, his mind already feeling fuzzy.

"Well then- we'll just see which direction it takes us," Lance concluded, yanking Keith back down

Keith chuckles in agreement.

* * *

When dawn arrived, Lance felt exhausted but satisfied. With Keith rolled into his side, his hair tousled in all directions, he smiled lovingly at him. "Morning, sweet heart," he kissed his forehead.

Keith hummed against him, "Morning…" he pauses. Not sure what his hesitation for, Lance raised and eye brow, "….Buddy?" Keith cringed.

"Did you just call me buddy?" Lance frowned.

"I-I didn't know what else to say." Keith insisted, "I'm not good with pet names…"

Lance snorts, "I'm definitely not letting you call me buddy during sex-"

"Making love,"

Lance purses his lips, correcting himself, "I'm definitely not letting you call me buddy while we make love, so you gotta pick something else,"

"Pal?"

"No."

"…Amigo?"

"Those are all things you call friends, Keith! Something better. More romantic,"

Looking horrified that he would have to go romantic on this topic, still trying to work out the details on it, Keith says, "Sharpshooter?"

"Better," Lance nods, "Though that is more of something cool to call me rather than sweet,"

"You gotta give me something here Lance," Keith sighs

"I call you sweetheart, go with something cute like that," Lance pats his arms.

"Sweetheart," Keith deadpans.

"Something different than what I say,"

He purses his lips, "Sweet…eyes?"

"Sweet eyes?" Lance's lower lips curls when he snickers.

"Sweet feet?"

"Sweet feet!" Lance cackled

"I'm trying!"

"K-Keeping going," Lance pleads, turning to laugh, "This is brilliant,"

"I'm not if you are just going to mock me," he huffs.

"I'm really trying not to," his Equivalent insists, "You are just cute. Picking a pet name isn't that hard. There are so many to choose from."

"Like what?"

"Sweetheart, for starters. You can't use that though, cause that is my thing," Lance pokes his nose

"Fine,"

Snuggled together on the bed, Lance rubs his chin, "Let's see… There is honey. Love. Beautiful. Hot thing~" he grins. Keith rolls his eyes, "My Mom always called my Dad, pookie."

"Pookie?"

"It's cute," Thinking of a few more names, Lance winks at Keith, making finger guns at him, "Hey, sexy~" he tries.

Keith snorts, "No,"

"I had to try it," Lance cuddles closer, smiling contently. "Today is the day we leave,"

Keith is quiet for a long time, staring up at the ceiling.

"Are you nervous?" Lance asks him when he doesn't reply.

"Kind of,"

"I am," Lance admits.

"Why is that?"

"It's been so long since we've been with the team. What if things are awkward?"

"They weren't awkward with Shiro when you first met him. We got a long just fine when we first started the team and we hardly knew each other," Keith points out

"That was different, and I wouldn't say we exactly got along. We didn't know anything about each other. Heck, I didn't even know Pidge was a girl,"

"Still don't know how you didn't figure that out," Keith says

"Excuse me for not noticing," Lance pouts, "The point is, it's been months."

"They're our friends Lance,"

"I know that,"

Keith sits up, tilting Lance's chin to look at him, "Then what is the problem?"

Lance hesitates, crawling a little into Keith's lap for comfort, "I don't know," he whispers into his shoulder, "I just feel really nervous about this. I'm worried we aren't going to be able to form Voltron, or we're gonna go back and the galaxy is a mess-"

"It technically already was a mess,"

"Even worse now that we've been gone so long. What if Blue is angry with me?"

Keith blinks, "Why would she be?"

"I've been gone for so long! What if she doesn't accept me as her paladin anymore?" Lance sniffed.

Realizing Lance's fears, Keith smiled. Patting his Equivalents head, he tells him, "Blue loves you, Lance. She'll be thrilled to see you. Everything with the team will be fine. It's been some time, and maybe we have to regrow our bond a little, but they are still our friends. Everything will work out fine,"

"You think?"

"I know it will," Keith lifts Lance's chin, "Wanna know a secret?"

Lance blinked, nodding.

"For a while… I thought that maybe it wouldn't be so bad if the team never found us,"

Shocked to hear him admit such a think, Lance's jaw fell open, "Really?"

"Being here with you- It was like a dream," Keith announces, "It wasn't always easy, but most of it was peaceful. It was just you and me. I loved that. I would be happy to have just that the rest of my life,"

Lance inhaled, feeling his hands tremble. Amazed how easily Keith always managed to move his heart, he reached up to cup his Equivalents face, sharing a long and very soft kiss.

If Lance had to be honest, he would have been happy with that too.

But despite this thought, they both knew they had a duty as paladins. Just because everything was peaceful here on Iespion now, that didn't mean that Zarkon wouldn't eventually target it within the next couple years. If they wanted to protect this planet, their home planet, and all the people they had grown to care for, then they needed to get rid of Zarkon.

With one last kiss, the both of them force themselves up from their position to get ready. Refusing to leave behind any of the clothes Tellru had made them, loving them too much, Lance packed their clothes in a bag, taking whatever they could.

They purposively drew out this process, walking slowly through the room, gathering their belongings. Keith plopped down on the bed at least 3 times, his head buried in the pillows, just lying there.

"Up we go," Lance grabbed his leg without the cast and dragged him out. Plopping on the floor, Keith sighed.

"Do you think they have bigger beds in the castle somewhere?"

"Allura's bed is pretty roomy, so probably?" Lance shrugs. "What's wrong with the bed being smaller,"

"We won't both be able to fit on the bed if it is smaller," Keith stands up with a grumpy pouty face.

Tilting his chin, Lance suggests, "I guess we'll just have to snuggle close together while we sleep,"

Keith opened then closed his mouth, like Lance had just given him an epiphany, "That could work,"

"You're cute," Lance mused, "Come on, we have to go,"

Moving to the door, turning off the lights, Lance thought it would be best to rip it off like a band-aid and just get a move on.

Keith, on the other hand, lingered at the door, getting one last look at their apartment. Stepping into his arms to join him, Lance sighs.

"This is it,"

Keith nods, "It hard to think we're finally leaving. Apart of me thought we never would,"

"The time went by so fast. We made so many memories,"

Keith tightens his grip saying, "We'll make new memories now,"

"Right…"

Hand in hand, the two turn to start their new journey, together.

It was terrifying, but Lance thought that so long as Keith was here, he could get through it.

Taking their time through the Coeihn kingdom, they met up with the group to say their final goodbyes.

"I can't thank you enough for helping us reunite with our team," Shiro says to Manson, shaking his head.

"No, it should be I thanking you. Without your well-trained paladins, my Kingdom would have been lost. The best of luck on your travels. If you should need anything, you can come to us,"

"Thank you," Allura tells him, happy to add him as an ally in their alliance against Zarkon.

As they talked, Lance and Keith approached their Coeihn friends. Many of the citizens had come to see them off, offering gifts to the paladin as thanks, and welcoming them back any time they wished.

Feeling like he might cry, Lance thought it best to say his goodbyes with a straight face before the waterworks showed.

"Thank you Tellru, for everything." He tells her.

"Think nothing of It." she says kindly, "I am glad I got to meet both of you. While I know our ways of life are different, I have come to see both of you as family"

"Us too." Keith shook her hand, "If you ever need any help against the Galra Empire, or the Traveks if they show up again, you know who to call."

Tellru nods, then tugs the two into a tight hug. "You two be safe. Come back and see us soon,"

"We will," they tell her.

"Stay warm. Don't go swimming after dark. Don't work yourself too hard," Feeling like he was talking to his Mom, Lance tears up a little, nodding.

"Will do, Tellru."

Dravla was a bubbling mess when they turned to him.

"Aww, Dravla," Lance's heart breaks at his tear streaked face, "Don't make such a sad face,"

"I'm not crying," he tries to insist, scrubbing at his eyes. "I just- there is something in my eyes."

"Dravla," Keith tells him, reached up to pat his shoulder. Dravla scooped the two into his arms.

"You two stay safe out there," he sniffles. They embrace him as tightly as they can, nodding into his shoulder. "C-Come to visit, okay?"

"We will," they promise him and Lance can feel himself getting choked up. The first weeks he was here, he wanted nothing else but to leave this planet. But now- he wanted nothing more than to stay.

"You two are- you two are going to do great out there," Dravla sniffs, "Zarkon doesn't stand a chance,"

Smiling up at him, they nod.

Place to the ground, Lance knew his composure wasn't going to last when Ruru approached them. With wide eyes, similar to when they first met her, she looked up at them.

Lance could hardly meet her stare without crying. Sniffling, he stepped back towards Coran, who patted his shoulder. "Lance?"

'Y-Yeah?"

"Are you alright?"

He shrugs, "I… this is just hard," he whispers. "I'm going to miss them a lot."

"I see." Coran's eyes soften. When an idea strikes him, he reaches into his pocket, "May I offer something?" handing him two small white devices, he says, "That is a communication device. With that, you can contact anyone anywhere in the galaxy."

Lance inhales, realizing Coran meant to give it to Ruru. Grinning, he knelt down to her, holding the device out to her.

Taking it, she eyed it curiously. "Ruru- if you click this button, you can call Keef and I whenever you want," he explains to her. She gasps, her eyes widening

"Really?"

"Yes," he tells her. "So you'll still be able to talk to us,"

Shocked, Ruru stares at the device for a long time. Accepting the gift, she places it into her bag and pulls something out in return.

Like two leather strings, they hung down for them to take. Each taking one, they inquired what the gift seemed to be.

"Good luck charms," Tellru says, "It is customary to give them to family when they leave for battle. They will bring you luck and safety,"

Admiring the crystal bead that hung from the strap, Lance lifted it over his head, admiring how it seemed to be a sort of necklace,

"Oh, Ruru," he says. "I love it,"

Keith mimicked him, kneeling down next to Lance when Ruru didn't seem to want to look at them, "Ruru?" he asks.

She gripped the bottom of her shirt, and for a moment Lance feared that she might cry.

"Ruru," he whispers, reaching out to take her hand. When she lifts her head, she surprises both of them when she grins.

"Keef and Lala… are heroes," she says, reaching up to touch their faces, "You have a duty." with more brilliance than Lance can handle, he knows his composure has faltered, and the tears are pouring from his face.

Hugging her together, they thank her for everything she has done.

"I love Keef. I love Lala," she whispers to them. For the first time that day, Lance could see tears shinning at the corners of Keith's eyes. He holds Ruru as tightly as he can, closing his eyes and burying his face into her hair.

"I love you too, Ruru."

"We'll come see you again, Sweet pea," Lance promises her. "You have the communication device, so you can call us whenever you want, okay?"

She nods, sniffling. "All the time,"

"All the time," they agree.

Putting her down, Keith turned away from the others to wipe his eyes, composing himself.  
"Are you two ready?" Allura inquired.

Taking one last look at the Coeihns, who smiled at them, encouraging them to take the next step forward, the two paladins nod.

"Yeah. We're ready."

* * *

Lance was grateful when Allura offered they take some time to rest up in the healing pods after they left the planet's atmosphere.

"We probably should," he agreed, glancing down to Keith's broken ankle.

"Hold on," Keith interrupts them, "I want to see Red first,"

"Oh! Right! I want to see Blue!" Lance grinned. Chuckling, Allura nods and leads them down to the Lion's loading bay. They second Lance stepped into the room, the fear of Blue not accepting him faded away.

She came to life the moment he got close, leaning down and opening her mouth in welcome. Rushing forward, he put a hand to her mouth, whispering, "Hey girl. I'm home,"

Feeling the connection, her thoughts purring against his own, he sighs. "I missed you too,"

Dashing inside, given a moment alone, he moved to sit in the paladin seat, feeling so nostalgic and safe. "Blue, you won't believe everything that has happened," he tells her, going over everything he could. He told her about the Coeihns, the Galra, Rashra, his friends- he found himself mostly talking about Keith, explaining how that had happened.

Blue was purring in praise, and he swore she was almost squealing at the news.

"Yes yes, it is exciting," he rolled his eyes. "And Keith is great." He holds up the ring, "We are like- kind of married?"

He laughed when she went quiet with shock, and then exploded with joy a moment later, her tail wagging back and forth. After a few beats of rejoice, Blue lowered herself back down, telling Lance to head to the pods. Knowing she was right, he made his way back to the others, finding Keith was already there and getting prepped to be placed into the healing pod.

Putting on his own suit, they stepped into the pods.

Lance ended up waking up from it 2 hours later, a lot earlier than Keith. Bruises healed faster then broken bones after all.

Stepping out, knowing he should probably return to his bed, Lance couldn't help but linger in the room, pressing his back to Keith's pod and waiting for him.

"Lance?" Shiro couldn't believe his eyes when he found the young blue paladin a few hours later, unmoving from his spot, "You're still here? Didn't you finish healing? Why didn't you go to bed?"

"Oh uh-" Lance stretched a bit, glancing at the clock, "Yeah, I am. I just- wanted to make sure Keith was okay,"

Shiro smiles, "You should get some sleep,"

"I tried." he sighed, "I couldn't really do it. I was so used to-" he trails off, a little pink in his cheeks. After sharing a bed with Keith for so long, he had forgotten what it was like to sleep in a bed alone without the second body next to him, "Just couldn't sleep."

"I see. I feel restless too." Shiro moves to sit next to him, "I keep expecting to wake up and find out we never really found you two," he sighs.

"You do?" Lance tilts his head.

"We looked for you both for so long- to finally have you back…" he chuckles, "It feels like a miracle,"

"Shiro," Lance says, touched.

"I'm glad you are both okay. We missed you,"

"We're glad to be back."

So, what all happened?" Shiro inquired. He didn't want to ask before so Lance and Keith could rest, but if he was going to stay awake anyway they might as well find something to fill the time. There was so much time, and he knew Lance and Keith hadn't explained everything about what had happened on that planet. They were keeping something quiet, he knew, he just wasn't sure what.

"A lot," Lance snorts, "That planet was weird. Not bad- I suppose, but definitely super odd,"

"All different cultures seem odd to those who aren't apart of it," Shiro agreed with a chuckle.

"Yeah. I almost got killed a lot, now that I think about it. Assassination attempts,"

"Whatever for?" Shiro gawked at him.

"Eh- this Coeihn guy was being a jerk. We took care of him," Lance says, forcing the topic to drop at that. Not wanting to push it, Shiro nods.

Not sure what else to say, he motions to Lance's scar, "We kind of match now," he offers, realizing he had never really spent so much alone time with Lance. It was usually the entire team that was there, so it was almost a struggle to push for conversation.

Glancing down at his scar, Lance suddenly laughs, "Scar buddies," he agrees.

The healing pod only worked so far with damaged skin, and couldn't seem to really remove scars, from what Lance could tell. Strangely enough, he didn't mind that he would be keeping the one on his eyes. It had grown to be apart of him, and he didn't want to get rid of it.

Plus, it what has started his connection with Keith, so he wanted to, in a sense, cherish it.

A few hours later, the team emerged, smiling at Shiro and Lance.

"Thought we would find you here," Hunk chuckled, "How are you feeling, Lance?"

"Tired, but good. Oh, and Pidge?" He says to her, noticing something.

"Yeah?"

"I think you grew,"

She gasps, her eyes sparkling, "Really?!"

"Now that you mention it, I think she has," Hunk agreed. "It's just hard to tell when I see you everyday,"

"Growth spurt!" she pumps her fists into the air.

"I'm not saying much, I'm just saying you grew a little," Lance laughs.

"A little is still more than what I was previously!"

A moment later, Allura and Coran joined them, "There you all are," she huffs, "What are you all doing?"

"Discussing Pidge's height while we wait for Keith to wake up," Hunk answered.

Looking over his vitals, Allura nods, "He should be waking soon. In fact-"

Seeing Keith's eyes fluttering Lance rushes to his feet before anyone can say anything, "He's waking up!"

The pod opened and Keith fell out. Not expecting him to just fall forward, Lance yells and was tackled to the floor. "Keith!" he grunts

He blinked hazily, still caught in his sleep, "Sorry," he yawns.

"Get off," Lance wheezes, finding Keith's weight crushing him. Keith doesn't move. "Keith."

"..."

"Keith." he frowns.

Keith smiles

"Keef!" Lance kicks his legs feebly, "Get off you fatty!"

"Who are you calling fat?" he lifts himself a little, frowning at Lance.

"You," Lance sticks his tongue out. Keith frowns, looking ready to wipe that smug look from Lance's face, but Allura cuts them off.

"Glad to see you two are on good terms," She chuckles, folding her arms. "Are you able to stand Keith?"

Keith glances down at his ankle cautiously. Rationally, he should know his ankle is healed, but kept convincing him to fear the idea that it wasn't. That when he tried to move it even an inch, it would send an uproar of pain along his senses.

"Try, Keith," Lance coaxes him gently, "You can do it," he smiles is encouraging, and Keith feels lighter.

Taking a few steps, not taking long to readjust to walking again, Keith smiles, "It's healed,"

"Of course it is," Coran says proudly.

Laughing, Keith took a moment to hop on his previously injured foot, smiling at the team warmly and laughing without a care in the world. They- took the action by surprise.

Keith smiled, but never as often as he had been today, or even yesterday. Not even Shiro managed to get Keith so happy for so long, and the results made the team feel just as bubbly and joyful.

They were thrilled to see Keith in such high spirits, and hoped he would remain to be a bundle of joy. Of course, it made them wonder too what exactly changed for Keith on Iespion to make him such a way.

Knowing the people there were so nice, and seeing how close Keith had grown to that Coeihn family, most of the team thought it had to be because of that.

Except for Hunk.

To him, he thought that perhaps Keith had changed due to his time spent with Lance. Lance naturally just brought some life wherever he went, and most couldn't help but smile when he was around.

His bubbly nature was infectious, so perhaps not even Keith could help himself from being affected by it?

Accepting whatever the reason was, Hunk chuckled when Keith tripped into Lance, who squawked at him. "Why you-!" he pinched Keith's cheeks.

Keith made a face in rebuttal, pushing into Lance so that the two fell over again. The team laughed at this, a sense of peace washing over the group.

Lance felt hope. He had been worried for nothing, thankfully. Sure he had spent time away from the team, but he hadn't felt any distance placed between them because of this. It was the same team he had grown to love and care for.

And now, he had Keith by his side too. He still missed Earth, and now he missed Iespion and all the people he had meet there- but he didn't feel lonely this time.

Caught in Keith's gaze, so happy to see him bruise/injury free and just there with him, Lance couldn't help himself from cupping his face. Keith eagerly met him, rushing upward to kiss him.

They pulled apart when someone in the team gasped. Puzzled, they sat up and turned to find the whole group staring at them, shocked and bewildered.

The two blush, frantically jumping to their feet when they realized what they had done.

"W-What?" Hunk motions between the two, not understanding what was happening.

Reaching down to take Keith's hands, realizing his poor Equivalent was blushing and unable to form words, Lance clears his throat, "We're together," he says, deciding it was best to just be straightforward about this.

The team let out a shared, "What?!"

Keith lowers his gaze, tightening his grip around Lance's hand and nodding, "W-We're going out," he clears his throat, "We're Equivalents,"

"What in the world are Equivalents?!" Pidge demanded.

"It's a Coeihn thing," Lance summarizes, deciding to get into more detail later. He wasn't quite sure what else to say about this now. They did everything they were supposed to and told their friends of their relationship.

So how come he felt so much anxiety from this? Hunk and Pidge both knew he was into both genders. For Pete's sake he openly walked around with his "My Bi-fi signal is strong" so what were they shocked about?

Maybe that Keith was gay? Or Bi? He's never asked- correction; Keith never answered. He probably didn't even know actually, now that Lance thought about it.

Honestly, he kind of expected shock. If he had told himself a year ago that he would be dating Keith Kogane, he probably wouldn't have believed it either.

"Equivalents…" Coran says softly. Then, he looks to their hands, motioning wildly between them. Knowing the Coeihn culture more than the others, he gasps, "You are!" They lift their hands for the others to see the rings.

"Are you two married?!" Hunk shrieks in surprise.

"No- I- I mean- yes? Kind of?" Lance shrugs.

"What does kind of mean?" Hunk threw his arms up

"It's like Vegas!" Lance yelled

Keith was puzzled, "What?"

"In some case, you two are married though?" Shiro was trying to wrap his mind around the situation.

"...Yes," Lance nods.

"You… are what?" Allura is shaking her head, the blood draining from her face. She is backing up, and pointing at them, her eyes growing cold. "No." she shakes her head, "You can't be,"

"Yes, we are kind of married. Things happened, and to Coeihns you are technically married when you... uh..."

Coran, once again being the only one informed of Coeihn tradition, blushed, "Oh my goodness!" he covered his ears, "Pg-13!"

"YOU TWO DID IT?!" Pidge realized a moment later. Hunk started screaming, and Shiro had to cover his mouth, looking embarrassed.

Keitha and Lance were not much better.

With everyone out in the open, a heavy silence falls between them. It was chilling to the bone.

Lance wanted Hunk to laugh it off- to make some joke about Lance being some flirt or something- like he always did when he announced he was dating someone.

He didn't want everyone to be staring at them like they had lost their minds.

Why were they acting like this? Was it really that shocking that they would be together? Hell, even Pidge and Hunk looked like this was just some weird dream to them. Not disgusted or anything but just… confused? And Shiro had this solemn look like he was almost disappointed.

What the hell was wrong with them?

"We spent a lot of time together on that planet,' Lance says quickly, his voice wavering, "Things just happened."

Allura turns away, furious, and for reasons neither of them could understand. "This can't be..."

"What is your problem?" Keith demanded, less embarrassed at this point and more of pissed off. "I love Lance," he declares, shocking the entire room speechless. "And he loves me. That's all there is to this."

"That isn't all there is to this!" Allura turns around so suddenly that they jump, "This is- how could you- No!" she sounds almost delirious, "I didn't have to worry about this with you two! You hated each other! How- how could this have happened…?"

"Hey," Lance shakes his head, subconsciously linking his fingers with Keith, terrified at what she meant. "Allura, it is okay-"

"Silence!" Allura jabs a finger at him, "You've broken the paladin code, Lance!"

"The paladin- what?" he tilts his head.

"Relationships between paladins are forbidden!"

Lance and Keith felt their world shatter.

* * *

 **Continue the story at the Sequel: Suffocation (Which is out and posted)**

* * *

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	31. Captain for a day (filler)

**THIS IS A FILLER CHAPTER.**

 **It takes place after the Galra and Rashra attack- but just a bit before the team arrives to pick them up.**

 **(And I know I technically said this story would be 30 chapters, and technically it is. The story is basically done. this is just some fun fluff since I ended the story in such a jerk way XD)**

* * *

Lance was welcomed by the sun filtering through the blinds when he woke up. Sitting up to yawn, he stretched his arms behind his head and glanced to the black haired beauty to his right.

Looking rather peaceful when he was asleep, Lance slowly laid back down to admire his Equivalent. Brushing a few bangs out of his face, Lance leaned in, whispering, "Keith?"

He didn't stir.

"Oh Keith~" he places a kiss to his nose, "Wake up,"

Keith's nose scrunched up, one eye peeking open just enough to acknowledge Lance, "What…?" he inquired groggily.

"Time to start a new day,"  
"5 more minutes,"

"Oh but Keith... The sun is up, so we must get up~"

Keith didn't respond, turning away to bury himself deeper into the covers. Waiting for the blue paladin to further his attempts, Keith found that he went quiet. Thinking that Lance actually might let him sleep in a little, he was sourly mistaken when a pair of fingers touched his lower back.

They moved, twirling playfully along his back muscles, following the line of them.

Holding perfectly still, he felt those fingers move to his spine in a walking motion, teasing Keith with the slow anticipation to what he was about to do.

"Keith..."

Following a trail up his back, Lance pulled back the red Paladin's hair, leaning down to press his mouth to the back of his neck. Darting his tongue out to trace the slowly increasing pulse, Lance was rewarded when Keith hummed in appreciation.

"Lance…?"

Then…

Keith yelled when teeth bit into him.

Like a kick start, he opened his eyes, tensed into Lance's arms, and felt a sharp tingle shoot through his body.

Just as soon as they appeared, the teeth retracted from him, and Lance was scurrying off the bed, snickering like some troll. Bewildered, Keith sat up, slapping his hand along the spot, He blushed furiously, "Lance!"

"I told you to wake up," he grinned, spinning around the table.

Feeling like the area was on fire, Keith rubbed at it, finding it hard to breathe. It was still a shock to himself just how much stuff like this affected him.

"What's wrong, Keith?' Lance mused, "You look a little hot and bothered~"

"Why you-" Throwing his legs over the bed, Keith moved towards Lance to have him make up for what he started. "C'mere!"

Lance laughed, ducking out of his reach to flee to the other side of the room. Keith quickly followed, managing to snag Lance's wrist after a few tries. Tugging him back into his chest, the blue paladin roared in laughter when Keith's fingers squeezed his sides, tickling him.

Backing up into the couch, the two collapsed against it, rolling back into each other. Sharing a long laugh, the two let it fade as they stared into each other's eyes.

"Morning," Keith kissed him. "Is there a reason you were so insistent I get up?"

"Not really," Lance admits, "I just wanted to get an early start."

"Why is that?"

"I dunno…" Lance nuzzled closer, "For memories sake, I suppose? I wanna be able to brag to my family about you as much as possible, so the more memories, the merrier,"

"Please tell me you aren't going to mention how you just bit me, right?"

Lance smiled smugly, "Perhaps~"

"Please don't,"

"For someone who has a thing for that kind of stuff, you would think you would be belting about it to the entire galaxy," Lance snorts

"Not to your family. I don't want them to think I'm weird or something," Keith mumbled. "I want them to like me,"

"They will," Lance assures him. "My mom is gonna think you are some awkward cinnamon roll~ And I bet all the money in the entire galaxy that she uses those words exactly,"

"Lance," he sighs

Chuckling, the Blue paladin sat up to kiss his Equivalent. Feeling Keith tilt his head to deepen it, Lance melted into the embrace, falling right back down onto the couch.

He groaned when Keith's knee shifted between his legs, pressing upward. "You complain- but you sure seem enthusiastic," he murmured.

Keith laughs was airy, brushing against Lance's cheek. "When it comes to you, Lance- always." He trailed his kisses downward, attaching his mouth to Lance's neck, who gripped his shirt in return.

"You better not bite me,"

"You just bit me. It seems fair,"

"B'scuse me?" Lance gasped dramatically, pulling his shirt down to reveal the damage of their other previous endeavors. "Me biting you once doesn't nearly make up for this carnage,"

Keith blinked, not even realizing himself how many times he had done such an act. He couldn't even remember half of them. "Oh…"

"Yeah, 'Oh' is right," Lance pokes his chest. Reaching up to cup Keith's face, Lance shakes his head, "Honestly, what am I going to do with you?"

There is a long pause, Keith's eyes dark with an unspoken message. Leaning forward, the moment growing intimate, he whispers, "Never let me go?"

The breath stalled in Lance's chest and a giggle rushes up, "You- I-" at a lost for words Lance surges up to kiss him, officially at his wit's end with this man. "You are something else, Keith,"

Keith smiles, "You too,"

Smiling at each other, they turned their heads when there was a knock on the door. Moving to answer it together, they smiled to realize it was Tellru.

"Hey Tellru," Keith greets her.

"Hello, Keith," Tellru paused when she looked at Lance and smirked, and then saluted "Good Morning Lance!"

He stood there, not sure what got her into such a good mood, or why in the world she was saluting him, "...Good morning to you too?"

"Are you ready to begin?" her eyes sparkled with mischief

"Begin?"

"Why, your new job as Captain of the Royal Guard of course~"

Lance blinked rapidly, "What?"

"Oh, did you not hear?" she inquired innocently,

"Hear what?" Lance panicked

"Well, as everyone knows, Rashra challenged you to a duel not too long ago. If you beat him in that challenge, you become the next captain of the Guard. Don't you remember me telling you this?"

"Ooohhhh," Keith's eyes widened in realization.

Lance stepped back, his good morning turning sour, "I-I do, but that was- the Galra attacked!"

"But you technically did still beat him before they did that, so you won the challenge," Tellru mused.

"You said it was a kill or be killed challenge!" Lance pointed at her, "I specifically remember not killing him!"

"But the King was just about to exempt you from that law since you are not entirely Coeihn and allow Rashra to live," Tellru's smile doesn't waver.

"B-But…" he was failing this argument, his lower lip trembling, "I can't be Captain of the guard,"

"You can quickly pick someone else to be the next captain," she informs him, "However, the process of that takes a full day so, consider this you being captain for a day," she cheers.

"It is their rules," Keith shrugs when Lance turns to him for help

"Traitor," he frowned.

"I'm just saying,"

"Just for a day, Lance. Dravla and Manson are even going to come to you with suggestions on who they think might be a good next Captain since you don't know any of them,"

"That still leaves the decision to me though," Lance concluded, feeling a heavy weight on his chest.

"Precisely. Oh but, I would hurry. You're late~" Tellru cooed

"Late?!" He demanded, bewildered

"The guard is probably already waiting for you down below,"

"Wha-" rushing to the window, Lance peeked out to see a good amount of the guard waiting outside the building for him, "Are you kidding me?! What am I supposed to do?" he rushed to get dressed.

"Take them on patrol… probably," Tellru says

"Wh- where?"

"Wherever,"

"You aren't helping, Tellru,"

"I'm a translator, not one of the guard. I don't know everything they do," She huffs, "Just do your best. They'll do whatever you command so just- you know, make sure they don't kill themselves,"

Not feeling very confident with this, Lance turns to Keith for help.

"You can't mess it up that badly Lance. You'll do fine,"

"Sweetheart, you are an inspiration," Lance scowled sarcastically.

Keith shrugged, smiling at his Equivalent. Throwing on some clothes, he followed him out the door. Nervously shuffling down the hall, frowning at Tellru when she exited the building before him, he sighed.

"I dunno how to be a Captian," he admits to Keith. Leadership and such did interest him, and he had always wanted to be captain of a ship or team leader for Voltron multiple times… But now that he had it, he wasn't sure what to do.

Not to mention, none of the Coeihns knew how to speak English, so how was he possibly going to lead them? They were at a point where their defenses were weak after that Galra attack- so what if something happened?

"Lance," Keith takes his hand, sensing his distress and taking action, "It is just for a day. You'll do great. Think of it like- putting your toe into the water to test its temperature. You are just sticking your toe in the sea of… Leadership," he concludes awkwardly.

Adoring the way his Equivalent tended to explain things, Lance tightens his grip around his hand. "That was adorable,"

"I'm trying to be supportive here," Keith huffs.

"I know," Feeling a little more at ease, he smiles, "Thanks, Keith," he kisses his cheek. Taking a deep breath, the two stepped out to meet the guard. The second their eyes located them, the guard bowed to a knee, welcoming him.

Lance shifted uncomfortably, waving, "Uh… Hi there,"

When none of them said anything, Lance stepped down the steps, jumping when they shot to their feet, backs straight and ready to march in line after him.

Frowning, Lance looked around, "Where did Tellru go?"

"She must have run off," Keith notes.

"Jerk," he sighs awkwardly shuffled down the street.

They followed him like small ducklings, watching him carefully

Not sure what else to do and needing advice, Lance dragged Keith with him towards the castle. He could almost consider it like any normal day, except the guard followed him in a massive march all the way there. It was like they were some parade, going through the city and getting curious stares from the citizens.

"Should I tell them to do something?" He asked Keith

"Would they understand you even if you did?"

"Good point," Quickly making their way to the castle, Lance managed to find Dravla and grab his arm, desperate for his help, "Dravla," he sobs, "I don't know what I'm doing,"

He laughs, ruffling Lance's hair, "Not liking the leadership life?"

"No, it isn't that. I just- I didn't sign up to be Captain. I don't know how the military works around the Kingdom or how to talk with any of these guys. I'm going to assign someone else to it by the end of the day," Lance says. "Tellru told me to ask for your advice and that you were discussing it with the King to who you think would be the best choice. Till then, I'm just wasting time."

"Ooh," Dravla nods, "Yeah, Manny and I have some ideas. Usually, the new Captain would be the protégé of the previous one. Rashra hadn't gotten around to finding himself one and well- even if he had, Manny probably wouldn't let them become the next Captian after what happened,"

"Right,"

"We'll let you know the list when we have it established. For now, just take them on patrol. Bring them around the city- maybe take them near Ruru's school. I'm sure she would get a kick out of this,"

"Then what?" he huffed.

Dravla shrugged, "I've never been Guard Captain before so you can't ask me." Clearing his throat, he called to the guard, asking them something. They each answered back different things.

"They say they usually follow their own patrol routes, but most stick with Rashra and follow him around. I'll just have the ones with scheduled routes do those, and you just gotta lead around the remaining ones,"  
Agreeing with that plan, Lance watched a good chunk of the group saunter off, leaving Keith and him with the remaining men. Looking them over, he sighed and did as Dravla suggested, making his way to Ruru's school.

He could feel Keith's eyes on him the entire way, "What?" he asked.

Keith shrugged, "Nothing just- I feel like this suits you,"

"What- this?" he motions behind him, "Having guys follow me around like lapdogs?"

"Being a leader," Keith corrects.

Lance looks at his feet, feeling extremely complimented to hear that, "You think?"

Keith nods.

"I'm not doing much,"

"Leaders don't have to constantly be doing daring feats or anything," Keith insists.

"Huh," Lance mused, "Strange, I always thought you were better for it,"

Keith almost tripped, "Me? A leader? No way,""Yes way," Lance nudged him. He recalled back to when the Galra attacked. He had felt so much admiration when he had watched Keith lead the Coeihns against the Galra, guiding them through the ship. You could say Lance was doing the same, but he was mostly following what Manson did- like a right-hand man.

"Yes way," Lance nudged him. He recalled back to when the Galra attacked. He had felt so much admiration when he had watched Keith lead the Coeihns against the Galra, guiding them through the ship. You could say Lance was doing the same, but he was mostly following what Manson did- like a right-hand man.

"You would be a great leader," Lance concludes,

"Aren't you always telling me I rush into battle?"

"You get done what needs to get done. You aren't afraid to rush in- but you know when you need to pull back."

"Sometimes…" Keith mumbled, awkwardly looking at his feet.

"Well I mean- yeah I think you need more experience with it, but you are totally leader material," he grins, "I'd follow you anywhere,"

Looking touched, Keith smiled, "Even to the end of Universe?"

"From one end to the other- and then some," Lance promised. Leaning into him, Keith chuckles a little, kissing the side of Lance's head.

A few minutes later they arrived at Ruru's school, surprising the whole building with their visit. Ruru came barreling out, grinning like a man woman.

"Lala!" she delves into his arms, "What happening?"  
"I'm Captian of the guard for a day," he explained, "So they are following me,"

Ruru gasps, "Lala is captain?" her eyes sparkled, and she looked back to her class. Wiggling from his arms, she ran back to them, screeching her head off. Getting a few gasps, she smirked then came running back, leaping into Lance's arms again.

"What was that about?" Lance asked, puzzled.

"I told them you were captain and I know you cause you are my brother," she explained proudly.

Touched that she thought of him as a brother, Lance laughed, "So you were bragging?"

"Yes," she nods.

"I'm bragging to Shiro when I see him again," Keith adds.

Lance gawks at him, "Don't do that," he says, "I'm only going to be Captian for a day anyway. It isn't that impressive,"  
"You still fairly won the position, and it is only for a day because you are willingly giving it up," Keith concludes, "It is something I can brag about." He clears his throat,

"Keef's Equivalent is Captain of the Guard!" Ruru exclaimed.

"Yes," he points to her and nods

Lance lifted a hand to hide his face, feeling embarrassed, "Stop," he pleaded with them, quietly loving that they felt enough pride about him to brag to others. Reaching out to take Keith's hand, he tugged his Equivalent in to kiss him.

Ruru made a gagging noise, trying to pry herself from his grasp, whining, "Cooties~!"

Purposively extending the kiss, Lance dramatically says, "Oh my love!"

Keith chuckled against him, turning away when Lance wrapped his free arm around his waist and kissed his cheek repeatedly with a loud, "Muah's!".

"Lance," Keith curled into him, embarrassed with everyone there.

"Gross!" Ruru gagged, finally breaking from Lance's arms to dash away. Watching her go, Lance cackled, swaying Keith back and forth in his arms, peppering his face with adoring kisses.

"You are impossible," Keith shakes his head, pushing away from Lance's chest enough to breath.

"I love you," Lance replies. Twirling Keith once, Lance calls Ruru back over, and idea in his head. Managing to get her over eventually, he kneels down to her. "Ruru, can you translate for me?" Lance grins, motioning to the guard. Whispering something to her, Ruru grins at the guards, relaying the message.

Blinking a few times, they glance at each other, then run off.

A few minutes later, they return and move towards them.

Keith doesn't know what to say when several of the men approach him, lifting up hand picked flowers. Lance steps back to show that all the flowers were gifts for Keith and grins.

"Lance," Keith says slowly as he is handed a lot of flowers, barely able to hold them all in his hands "Are you even allowed to do this?"

"I'm Captain, so they gotta do what I say. Alright, men!" he cleared his throat, "Ruru, please tell them that I require food, some beverages, and some shade for my love here! It's hot today, and I don't want him getting sun burned, dehydrated, or hungry. He likes cold things on days like this so try to find something like ice cream!"

"Lance-" Keith tries to stop him.

"I want each of you coming back with a cold treat on the double! Go go go!"

Ruru barked the ordered, and the men jumped, scampering off. Keith slapped his forehead, his shoulders shaking from laughing.

"I'm pretty sure this is an abuse of power,"

Lance grinned, "Good thing I'm only going to be in charge for a day. Alright! Now have any of you ever heard of a cheerleader pyramid?"

"On no..." Keith slapped his forehead

A good hour later, when Dravla appeared to inform them that Manson wished to see Lance to discuss who should be the next Captain, he was shocked to find the Coeihn soldiers stacked on top of each other, Lance standing proudly on the top.

"Tada~"

"Um..." Dravla lifts his finger, "What's happening right now?"

Keith is shaking his head, "Lance, I'm seriously considering taking back what I said about you being a good leader!" he called up to him.

Lance struck a pose, winking, "Just wait till I get a routine going for these guys~"

* * *

"These are who I suggest. Of course, the choice is up to you," Manson informed Lance, having sat down with him to discuss each person in private. Lance eyed the list warily.

Each one sounded great, but he technically didn't really know any of them. He didn't want to pick someone just for them to turn out to be another Rashra.

"Uh... Dravla, which one do you like?" he asks. Dravla leans over, pointing to three names.

"I always thought these three would be excellent for the job, but I couldn't really tell you who to pick between the three,"

Lance ran a hand through his hair, "You two aren't helping me,"

"Sorry," they say.

"Would you like us to give you a moment alone?" The King inquired. Lance nodded and the two Coeihns got up to leave.

Keith, who had been standing to the side, walked up to the table to sit next to Lance, "Who are you going to choose?"

"Who would you choose?" Lance sighs, "Who knows when the team will come get us. I don't want to pick someone just to leave and realize later that I made a horrible mistake and got people killed because I picked the wrong guy,"

"That won't happen, Lance," Keith takes his hand.

"How do you know?" Lance countered, "I don't know any of these people. The Coeihns are still recovering from that Galra attack and if I choose poorly, they could suffer because of it," letting the topic fall there, he agonized over the names, looking over the papers for each one. He analyzed their skills, their personality, their beliefs- everything was here, but there was only so much you could learn from a report of someone. He didn't have the time to get to know each one either- not to mention the language barrier between them.

He had to trust Dravla and Manson's word for it, so he knew everyone on the list was capable- but would they be able to get the job done in the long run?

"Lance," Keith tugs on his sleeve to get his attention. Turning his head, he is surprised when Keith kisses him. "Calm down," he pulls back with an affectionate smile. "You'll pick the right person.'

"What makes you think that?" Lance mumbled.

"Because I know you. The proof is how seriously you are taking this. You could easily just pick a name and be done with it- but you care about the Coeihns so I know your choice is going to be the right one," Keith leans into him, calming the anxiety that had overtaken his body. "Just breathe,"

"O-Okay," he agrees. Looking the list over for a few more minutes, he called Manson and Dravla back, motioning to one name. "This one,"

They look it over, sharing a look and then smiling. "I agree," Dravla gives a thumbs up.

"As do I. Then it is decided," Manson holds his hand out to Lance who shakes it, "Thank you, Lance,"

He shakes his head, "I didn't really do anything,"

"He had the soldiers making a pyramid earlier," Dravla tells the King. "It was the weirdest training I've ever seen, but the soldiers seemed to like it,"

The Kind perks up, "Like a bonding exercise?"

Lance is about to say 'No' but Keith cuts in, "Yes,"

He hits him, "Keith,"

"We did it with the Lions," he insists.

"Because we had no idea what else to do," The blue paladin laughs. To his horror, Manson and Dravla seemed to seriously consider adding the stacking pyramid to their list of training. Knowing he couldn't stop them, he pinched Keith's cheek.

"You caused this," Keith smiles and Lance loves him a little bit more, "Thanks for having my back,"

"Always,"

* * *

 **The end~ Nothing long, but it was definitely fun to write. I hope you all enjoyed it!**

 **I got a few other fillers planned**

 **-Keith challenged the 5 champions for citizenship**

 **-King Manson throws a ball and the two paladins are invited**

 **-If there is anything else you guys would like to see though, please don't hesitate to let me know and I'll try my best to make it happen!**


End file.
